Only When I Sleep
by Livvie
Summary: Chapters 27-33 Finally Updated. Plot is kicking into high gear and after this, Stephanie, Hunter and everyone else's lives will never be the same.
1. Default Chapter

This story takes place two months after the "Stephanie Has to Leave the WWF" match  
  
Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley tapped her fingers impatiently on the bar. She looked over at the bartender disdainfully. He was serving some little insipidly smiling blonde further down the bar. This was getting ridiculous! She'd been waiting for at least five minutes to catch that idiot's attention and have him bring her a vodka martini. She'd had enough. She was so tired--but it seemed like she was always feeling tired lately...she needed a nice night's sleep for a change she decided. She hadn't been sleeping all that well lately, and it was really taking a toll. Stephanie caught a part of her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. She had circles under her eyes, and she had never seen her face look so...exhausted. She knew she was really letting herself go, but she really didn't find that she cared all that much. After all, no one whose opinion she even remotely cared about would see her like this, so why shouldn't she let herself go out like this?  
  
But to have to wait for a guy to serve her....never in her life had this happened, and it kind of put the proverbial cherry on top of her ever so wonderful day. She rose to leave but froze when she heard that all too- familiar theme song for Raw blasting through on the television. Jeez, she hadn't even realized it was Monday. She reluctantly slid back into her seat and watched the television. Ever since she'd lost that damn match and she'd had to leave the Federation, she hadn't been able to allow herself to keep up with the happenings in the WWF. She felt tears start to well up in her eyes. She missed it all so badly. That company was--used to be--she amended- -her life. And now to see it functioning without her, without her running things--God! She hadn't expected it to hurt this badly! But it did. She watched silently and noted with a small amount of amusement some of the guys doing double takes of her when the looked at the screen. She ignored them; she didn't care what they were thinking. It felt so weird to watch and not know exactly what was supposed to happen. Before she'd left she had run a few ideas past Dad about future storylines, and he'd been receptive. They'd been building their relationship back from that whole ECW debacle. Slowly but surely, Stephanie had felt like everything in her entire life had come full circle, and everything was finally going to be perfect. She'd have her career, her family...but most importantly, she'd have the man she loved.  
  
But then everything had fallen apart. Before things had gotten so bad,-- Finally!!! Stephanie forced herself out of her reverie.  
  
"Vodka martini with a twist." She ordered the bartender crisply, and he smiled and nodded. She didn't smile back, she was still irritated. She picked up the glass and was startled as she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket.  
  
Taking her drink, she slid into a less crowded section of the bar and answered her phone. "Stephanie McMahon-He--What do you want?" She finished, not letting herself complete her surname. Her attention was still focused on the t.v. screen, waiting to see if he'd come on. But with the man on the other end of the telephone's next statement, all of her attention was focused solely on the call. Stephanie finished the conversation in a matter of minutes, then snapped the phone shut. She sat absolutely still for a moment, but then felt a smile starting on her face as she walked back up to the bar.  
  
"Hey!" She yelled at the bartender and motioned him over. "I don't want this anymore; I'd like an orange juice instead." she said, sliding the glass to him.  
  
Stephanie smiled in satisfaction as she sipped her juice, a thousand thoughts and wheels were beginning to turn in her head. How funny it was, she mused....not five minutes ago, she'd been wondering how she was going to live out the rest of her life without any of the things or people she cared so much about in it. Now, in the span of a few moments, everything was absolutely, irrevocably changed. She felt so giddy, not tired at all anymore, as she continued to drink the juice.  
  
After all, pregnant women really should not be having vodka martinis. 


	2. Chapter Two

When the doctor had said those two little words--"you're pregnant"-- Stephanie had been shocked, but then everything that she'd been feeling lately had suddenly made an all new kind of sense. Somewhere in her peripheral vision she knew that the bartender was looking at her curiously, probably because she couldn't get that ridiculously stupid smile off of her face--but it didn't matter. None of any of it mattered.  
  
She was having a baby. Unconsciously her hand stroked her stomach. "Your daddy is going to be so happy when he finds out about you", she whispered softly. But then she wondered.  
  
Would he be?  
  
Would he be happy? Of course he would. This was a baby--their baby. And he or she would be the most beautiful, happiest, healthiest baby in the history of the world, Stephanie promised herself firmly. And all she had to do was tell Hunter the truth. Then everything would be perfect, he would fix everything, and they could try again...  
  
Suddenly she had a horrifying thought: Healthy? What if the baby wasn't healthy? She'd been pregnant during her last few days in the Federation. And that final match with Hunter had been so brutal... she had ached for days. She hadn't known about the baby then, hadn't even suspected, if she had she never would have set one foot in that ring. But she hadn't known about the baby, although she really ought to have suspected considering how much she and Hunter had "celebrated" their upcoming wedding and arrival of their child. So she really didn't know why she was still so floored at the news. But what if there was something wrong now? She would never be able to forgive herself. Hurriedly Stephanie pulled out her phone and pressed Speed Dial One, but as soon as she realized what she was doing she hung up quickly. No, she couldn't tell Hunter like this, not over the phone. This was something that she had to tell him face to face. Besides, even if she did want to tell him right this minute, he'd probably just hang up on her. With a burst of renewed energy Stephanie dumped the contents of her purse on the counter and rummaged through the belongings until she found the card that was from Dr. Alan Lucas. She had first consulted with him four months ago, when she had thought she could be pregnant. She remembered she had been so very thrilled at the idea.....  
  
  
  
Four Months Earlier....  
  
  
  
Stephanie dangled her legs in on the bed, freezing in that pathetic hospital gown the nurse had given her to wear, waiting impatiently for Dr. Lucas. She wanted to get the heck out of her so she could go have dinner with her husband. She had already called ahead to the restaurant and placed the order for a special meal...baby back ribs, baby corn...she knew it was pretty dorky and inelegant, but she didn't care. She wanted to see how long it would take Hunter to figure out the theme of the evening. As soon as she finished here, she wanted to go to a sports shop and buy a baseball glove and write something sentimental like "Congratulations, Daddy" or something really maudlin like that. This baby was going to fix everything. Stephanie knew that she and Hunter had been growing apart as of late, but this would bring them closer together than ever before. Hunter never really said anything, but she knew that he wanted children. He never realized it but she would catch him looking at the kids with a kind of wistful expression every time they would pass a park. She hadn't wanted to bring up the subject, to pressure him, because they already had so much going on in their lives...for months now he had been in rehab, healing his quad, and she had been getting more and more involved with Shane's plot against Dad and ECW. She had wanted to be there for Hunter, to help him through every possible set-back, celebrate his every triumph, but all he had wanted was for her to leave him alone, so he could train. That had stung. She had tried to be understanding though, but she was his wife, and she knew he needed her around, even if he himself didn't quite realize that yet. But she also knew she couldn't force the issue, so she had thrown herself completely into ECW and left Hunter to his own recourse, all the time rushing back to her various hotel rooms, hoping against hope that there'd be some sort of message from him...but there never had been.  
  
And then the Alliance had been destroyed, and she was once again on Dad's bad side, but Hunter's painstaking dedication had paid off. He had beaten all the odds, he had returned. It should have been a joyful, gloriously triumphant time for the both of them, but instead their marriage had crumbled even further. So she had gone a bit overboard, trying to make things better, but instead everything she did only seemed to make him even angrier.  
  
And then Stephanie had realized the possibility of a pregnancy, and here she was in Dr. Lucas' office. Her head snapped back up as the doctor came in the room. She sat expectantly, waiting for his confirmation of her suspicion.  
  
"Hello, Mrs. Helmsley." Dr. Lucas sat across from her. "I realize this isn't the news you were expecting but..."  
  
"I'm pregnant, right? Right?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"I'm afraid not...although I do wish to tell you I see absolutely no problems in the future, you are not pregnant at this time."  
  
"Well, that obviously can't be right. You don't understand. I have to be pregnant. I am pregnant! Run the damn test again! The first one was obviously wrong." Stephanie objected.  
  
"It wasn't wrong, they're really very accurate. I'm sorry, but..."  
  
But Stephanie didn't want to hear anything further. She looked at him and asked him to leave her to get dressed, and when he exited the room, she told herself she would not cry. She wouldn't...just because it wasn't happening now, that didn't mean anything.  
  
She really needed to cancel the dinner....  
  
  
  
Present Day  
  
  
  
Stephanie shook off the bad feelings that memory brought forth. She had been so upset, and then that very evening, Hunter had sprung his "surprise" on her, telling her he wanted a divorce. A divorce! She'd see him in hell first! So she'd said the first thing that popped into her head, that she was pregnant and the whole thing had just snowballed from there. She had wanted to buy herself some time, that was all! She would have told him the truth eventually, when they were deliriously happy after the renewal of their wedding vows, he would be a little upset, but then they'd get to work on actually making a baby and she would make up for her lie. Instead all she had bought herself was the Backfire of the Century.  
  
But this time around, it actually was true. She wouldn't be lying, and Hunter would see that. Stephanie first made a call to arrange an appointment with Dr. Lucas, and then looked through her Palm Pilot. Hmmm...it looked like Smackdown would be in New York this week. She had a lot to do and not much time to do it in.  
  
But first, she needed to get some sleep. She was too tired to think anymore for the night. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley left the bar, knowing that it would remain one of her favorite places of all time, because that was the place where she had come up with a foolproof plan to get it all back: her marriage, her family and her career. And God help anyone who actually dared to try and get in her way she thought, entering the elevator that led to her hotel room upstairs.  
  
Halfway across the country, Hunter Hearst-Helmsley awoke in a cold sweat with a start, chills running through his body. "Steph?" he called silently in the darkness of his own hotel suite. 


	3. Chapter Three

If punching bags could scream, this one would be begging for mercy, but it sure as hell wasn't going to come from the man punching it. Hunter Hearst- Helmsley was normally a diligent, focused man when it came to training, but today his strength seemed inhuman. He didn't know why he hadn't been able to get any sleep for the past week, but he hadn't and it was starting to take a serious toll on him. He had awoken last night from yet another unsettling dream about his wif-about Stephanie, and although he tried desperately, he couldn't get back to sleep. So at two o'clock in the morning he had padded his way down to the gym and had been working out ever since, hoping to work himself into exhaustion or just fill up his hours doing something, anything, to keep his mind off of actually thinking about anything, much less Step--her. It was a good plan, but the problem was that it wasn't working at all. He paused from his rigorous slamming of the bag for a moment and turned to look at the clock. Hunter blinked disbelievingly. Eight o'clock. He'd been here for six straight hours, and nothing. He still was unable to shake that weird, disconcerted feeling that stupid dream had given him, that feeling like she was in danger or that something bad was going to happen, and if six hours of pushing his body to submission wasn't going to do it, then nothing would. He shook his head in disgust, picked his bag off of the floor and headed for the showers, trying to think of something to do for the rest of the day. He wished he had to wrestle tonight, he really needed to pound the crap out of somebody today.  
  
Meanwhile, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley was rising from the best night of sleep she had had in ages. She blinked blearily at the clock.five after eight. Hmm.shower first or breakfast? She wondered sleepily. Her stomach growled hungrily and she grinned. "Okay, okay. I guess it's breakfast first." she acknowledged the baby. She picked up the phone and ordered room service. "Yes, hi.I'd like two croissants, hazelnut chocolate sauce.um, oh! The eggs benedict sound good.and maybe some whole wheat toast? Oh, no coffee, just an orange juice. Oh, yeah! And milk." She added on. Ugh. She hated milk, but if it was good for the baby, she was more than willing to make the sacrifice. She knew in a few days she'd be dying for coffee, but she was going to do this pregnancy right. She knew Hunter would insist on that, but she was happy to oblige. He was so overprotective, but instead of being stifling, it only endeared him to her even more. Well, while she was waiting for breakfast, she might as well take the shower.  
  
Stephanie looked at herself critically in the bathroom mirror. God, she looked so bad. Maybe she had been depressed or something. She laughed sarcastically at herself.what had she had to be depressed about? She'd only lost her husband and her career.nothing to be upset about there! It didn't matter though, because she would recover what she had lost and get it all back tenfold. But she really had to do something about this. Stephanie sat back down on the bed, fingered through the telephone directory and looked for a decent spa. Her index finger made its way down the page.this one sounded good. She dialed and intending to only make an appointment for a linen wrap and a facial, changed her mind and decided she deserved the works and set up a manicure and pedicure too. She made sure that everything would be finished by four o'clock tonight, which was the time of her appointment with Dr. Lucas and ran for the shower. She hurried through the shower and got out just in time for room service's knock. She wrapped a robe around herself and opened the door, pulling in the cart and tipping the waiter a hundred. She was feeling so good, she felt like spreading the joy and smiled back at the astonished waiter. "Thank you, ma'am!" he said, running off.  
  
Stephanie sat on the bed, looking at the beautifully arranged breakfast, and somehow she was thinking about the first time Hunter had cooked for her, about three weeks into their whirlwind marriage. She hadn't especially even really liked him at that point, he had just been a route to getting control of the WWF, and she knew that's all she was to him as well. The arrangement--their alliance was working out very well for both of them. She remembered waking up to the most glorious smell, and thought that Cook had come into work early, so she had drifted back to sleep. She had groaned when she had been woken up, but her desire to go to sleep had quickly faded when she had realized that Hunter was holding a tray out to her in bed, a small smile on his face. She smiled back, commenting on how Cook might quit, having to get up this early to make breakfast. Hunter had laughed, and just remembering the sound of that gorgeous, deep laugh made her toes curl. He told her he had made it himself. She had laughed in his face, trying to conjure up a picture of this man in a kitchen, and he had pretended to look wounded, but she could tell he was laughing inside. "Hey, it's not going to kill you." He had said. "Well, if you actually made it, I guess I have to give it a try. I am your wife, after all." She had replied, steeling herself for whatever horror awaited her. He forked a fluffy egg and placed it gently between her lips. Stephanie's eyes widened in surprise. "You so did not make that." She told him. "Well, you weren't there, you were still passed out from exhaustion from last night, (she remembered that so familiar wicked gleam in his eyes as he had made that comment) so how would you know? But you seriously don't believe me?"  
  
"No, there is no way that you can cook." she had trailed off, opening her mouth for another bite of the best eggs she'd ever tasted. But she looked at him and believed that somehow her husband had yet another skill she had never known about until now. Jeez. He was so damn good at everything he tried.he could really make a girl feel inferior, but Stephanie knew she was pretty damn good at a lot of things too. Cooking just wasn't one of them. She had never learned how. Her mother had never cooked, they always hired professional chefs and cooks. Once, when she was ten, she had wanted to make some toast for herself so she had gone into the kitchen and buttered some bread and put it in the toaster. It had melted the wires and all of the rooms around the kitchen had smelt like they were burning for days.thus, Dad had forbidden her from kitchens from that point on.  
  
But here was somebody-not just somebody, her husband, she corrected herself- who had actually gone to the trouble of cooking her breakfast. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever cooked her breakfast..and that was because no one had, she realized. No one had ever just made her breakfast, not even Andrew, and this guy was the first one to do so. And he hadn't had to, wasn't getting paid to do it, wasn't getting anything from it, but he had still made her breakfast anyway. She realized she had never told Hunter this, but that was the moment when she had stopped seeing him as a boorish thug and started to think of him as.her husband. It was an unbelievably nice feeling.  
  
Oh, jeez! Stephanie snapped herself out of her thoughts when she realized the scraping noise was her fork trying to get food from an empty plate-when had she finished the eggs benedict? It must be the baby, making her all emotional anytime she saw anything that reminded her of Hunter. Problem was that everything reminded her of Hunter, something he had done, something they had done, something he had said..it was so frustrating! She had known she loved him before their whole separation, but she didn't know if she had realized how much she loved him. Somehow, over the course of only a year, Hunter had become her favorite reason for existence. She had built up everything in her life around him, because for the first time in her life, someone had actually loved her for who she really was, not just because she was their blood, or because she was Vince McMahon's daughter. And she had loved that fact. So she hadn't realized how much she would miss him if they ever were apart because it had never occurred to him that they could be apart, not after everything that was between them. They were connected to one another...they fit each other so well. They were like two halves of a puzzle that no one had ever thought to put together, but once they did, it all just made sense. Did he miss her as much as she missed him? He did, she decided. If he ached for her only half as much as she did for him, if he had thought of her only a third of as much as she had thought about him, she would be surprised if he could even walk straight, she thought to herself as she got dressed.  
  
But soon, they wouldn't be apart at all, in only two days she'd see him for the first time in two months. But first things first, Stephanie knew, and it would be a cold day in hell when she would let him look at her looking like this. Especially since her aim was to remind him of everything he was missing. She called for a taxi, had an incredible day at the spa, and came out looking like herself again, only better because she had some kind of a sparkle in her bright blue eyes that she had only days before had begun to wonder if it would ever return.  
  
She headed for Dr. Lucas' next, refusing to acknowledge the deep fear and nervousness in the pit of her stomach. Everything would be fine. Everything would be good. She kept repeating that to herself over and over, like a mantra. The tests flew by, she hardly even remembered any of them, so focused she was on thinking "good" thoughts. Several hours later, because she had insisted the Doctor rush the tests while she waited in his office, she looked up to see the Doctor's face. She knew instantly the news was good and it felt like a huge weight had lifted from her heart. Dr. Lucas confirmed her intuition. "I am very happy to say that your baby is perfectly fine. We've detected no irregularities, the baby seems to be in very good health. Those falls you told me about appear to have done no damage, but I must caution you against sustaining any falls in the future. Got that? No falls!" he kidded gently.  
  
Stephanie just nodded happily, listening to the doctor telling her what to eat, when to sleep, holding out her hand when he slipped her her prenatal pill prescription. The doctor was slightly stunned when she embraced him tightly so he patted her on the back. She exited his office and Dr. Lucas was quite surprised to find that he quite liked the girl, considering how she appeared on the television. Must be quite horrible to have cameras invading every semblance of a normal life, he sympathized. Dear girl, just so excited to be having a baby..he wished her all the best.  
  
Unbeknownst to him of course, at the exact moment his wife was finding out that their child was fine, Hunter was staring at the amber contents of a brandy snifter and analyzing why he didn't want it. It had been poured from an expensive bottle. Its color was as clear and pure as a dark Mexican topaz. He sipped it. It was tasteless. He couldn't appreciate it anymore than he appreciated his current company.  
  
Stacy Keibler looked at her companion tiredly. She had pulled out all of the stops for this evening. She was wearing a deep red dress with a long slit up the left leg, her hair had been carefully washed, blow-dried and styled for an hour to achieve a "natural look" and she had even put on her lucky lipstick, one that had never failed in it's objective of making her lips irresistible to man.but apparently it was irresistible to this man because it didn't even seem like he knew she was a the table. She wondered whether or not if she even got up and did a strip-tease, if Hunter would even notice or just continue to stare off expressionlessly into space. When she had called him earlier at his hotel to invite him to dinner, she hadn't really expected him to say yes, but she had hoped...and he had accepted her invitation. She had been ecstatic, she had been trying to think of ways to catch him in the corridors at work, "bump" into him innocently at different places, and he never seemed to really acknowledge her existence. When he had accepted the invitation, she had thought maybe all along he had just been stringing her along, playing hard to get, and was ready to stop playing, but now she wasn't sure of that at all. She'd been talking for an hour, trying to engage him in conversation, but he only murmured general yes's and no's during her brief pauses. Stacy was getting angry. Most guys would sell their left arm to get her on a date, and the one guy she actually wanted didn't even seem to really want her there. If that's the way he wanted it, she was just going to go. She had just made up her mind to leave when all of a sudden Hunter smiled hugely. Stacy stared at him, mesmerized. God, he had the most beautiful smile, she thought, dazed. She settled back into her seat, all thoughts of leaving gone. "Wow, what was that for?" she teased, intertwining her small hand in his huge palm.  
  
"Huh?" "What?" Hunter asked Stacy.  
  
"I was just wondering what made you smile like that...you haven't really said much all this evening and-" Stacy paused as Hunter pushed his chair back. She looked at him, bewildered.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I just-I-I-I really need to leave. Thank you for inviting me to dinner, it was great..yeah. Bye." Hunter left three fifties on the table and exited the dinner as Stacy just sat there, glued to her seat, stunned. What had just happened here? Had he actually just left? Left her?!This hadn't happened to her...ever...and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. Strangely enough, Hunter's unbelievable lack of manners didn't put her off. In fact, Stacy thought, somehow, she only wanted him more. He was rich, he was powerful, he was the Undisputed Champion.and he looked like a Greek God. God, how much she wanted this man. And I always get what I want, Stacy thought to herself, trying to figure out how exactly she was going to pull this one off. Finally, a challenge worth of her, she reflected.  
  
Hunter hailed himself a cab and folded his long body inside. What the hell was that? He had been having dinner with a beautiful woman...okay, so she wasn't all that interesting, but it had gotten him out of the hotel room...and all of a sudden he felt like he had wanted to do a cartwheel in the restaurant? What was up with that? He hadn't been feeling happy before, it had just happened all of a sudden, this pure, overwhelming feeling of unadulterated joy. It was the lack of sleep, he knew. Making him not know which way was up. But even as he told himself that, he knew it wasn't true. Somehow, in the middle of dinner he had gotten to thinking about his wi- Stephanie. He thought about how she would have ordered a steak, not that pathetic salad Stacy ordered. He thought about how Stephanie would have pushed a bothersome strand of hair back, instead of just twirling it annoyingly like Stacy had done. He thought about Stephanie's rich laugh even when she laughed at his stupid jokes when Stacy laughed her high- pitched God-awful little giggle. Everything Stacy had said, done, he had compared to his wi-Stephanie! Stephanie! He told himself furiously. Stop referring to her as your wife! You're separated! You're going to get a divorce! She isn't your wife anymore!  
  
He had to do something about this connection he still somehow had with her. That joy he had felt in the restaurant.it had to be hers that he was feeling. But how? And more importantly, who was making her that damn happy? Hunter thought jealously, but he was so unaccustomed to the feeling he didn't recognize it. She couldn't be happy when he was feeling like this, no, this just wasn't right. Their connection...whatever it was, he had to get rid of it, cut it, blow it up, make it stop. And there was really only one way he knew how to do that. 


	4. Chapter Four

Stacy Keibler studied the man sleeping in the seat on the plane beside her. His face looked so...unguarded. Peaceful. Not at all what he looked like awake. She sighed blissfully and cautiously snuggled her head closer to his shoulder.  
  
When Hunter had returned to the restaurant four hours earlier tonight she had been shocked, to say the least. After the way he had acted, she hadn't expected for him to have the gall to show his face around her for at least a week. So when he'd shoved open the glass doors of the restaurant and strode back to their table, she'd been bewildered. Then the arrogant jerk had actually said he had a taxi waiting outside and he'd like for her to come along with him. She'd contemplated saying no, God knew he deserved it, but she wanted to go, wanted it with everything inside her, and she realized he might never give her a chance like this one again. So she had just smiled coquettishly, held out her hand to him and said okay. Then in the taxi, Hunter had surprised her even more by not heading back to the hotel. Instead he had told her they were going to the airport and that he needed a favor from her. She'd been livid when she'd learned they weren't going back to the hotel, but that fury quickly turned to silent delight when he told her exactly what he wanted her to do. She hadn't shown her true feelings, her true level of joy at his plan, otherwise he might have changed his mind. Instead she'd only nodded sympathetically and said calmly: "Well, Hunter...if that's what you truly want...of course I will help you. I'd do anything for you." Inside however, her brain was turning a thousand wheels and levers at the thought of what all of this could mean. If she did this right, if she played this in exactly the right way, she could get it all--an elevated standing in the WWF as Triple H's partner, that bitch Stephanie's ultimate and utter humiliation and destruction, and of course, the man, Hunter Hearst-Helmsley himself. Opportunities like this, why, they only came along once in a lifetime and Stacy was the queen of turning opportunities into actual triumphs. If this plan of Hunter's went through how she'd envisioned it, with a few minor modifications to be made by her, she'd not only get Hunter's gratitude, but she'd also get to stick it to Stephanie in the process. Stephanie was still considered to be "Alpha Female" in the Federation, and even though she was gone, she knew many of the wrestlers expected her to worm her way back in somehow, and so none of them were quite willing to burn any bridges with her quite yet. She was a McMahon after all, and Triple H's wife, and one devious woman in her own right. So it had been difficult to make any serious inroads with anyone in the Company. However, if Stephanie were completely gone, with no chance of her ever showing her face again, loyalties would shift. Shift toward her, if she manipulated the circumstances right. And she would. She would play this like a master pianist, she would hit all the right notes, and she'd get it all.  
  
So here Stacy was, on a plane with the man of her dreams, flying to New Orleans where Stephanie was holed up. Long live the Keibler-Helmsley Empire, she thought dreamily.  
  
  
  
"Oh, God, I can't breathe anymore!" Stephanie laughed wildly as she said that to the saleswoman and collapsed in a chair.  
  
"Wow, I didn't realize it was this late." she commented, looking at her watch.  
  
"Time truly flies when you're having fun." Claudia--the saleswoman-- commented.  
  
"Yeah, and it doesn't go by have as fast when you want the Earth to just swallow you whole." Stephanie observed, only half-joking. "But anyway, I think fifteen hundred dollars is my limit for fun today."  
  
"Wonderful. I'll go wrap all of these up for you then." Claudia said, lifting everything into her arms and moving into the back of the boutique.  
  
"Thanks." Stephanie acknowledged, her eyes shut tiredly. When she'd left Dr. Lucas' office hours before she'd decided to go shopping for clothes. It really sucked being poor. Well, poorer than she usually was. As a McMahon, she hadn't lacked for anything. But then she'd bought ECW and that had completely depleted her savings and trust fund. So then she'd taken the paltry sum she'd had left and decided to try the stock market. She did it quietly, she hadn't even told Hunter...he would have laughed at her, the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, playing the stock market. So she'd read up on companies on her own, just went with her intuition on a lot of her choices, and much to her surprise, she'd been doing pretty well. Not McMahon status, no galaxies far from that, but well enough to blow fifteen hundred dollars on clothes that wouldn't fit her for much longer. She wanted to look like the Billion-Dollar Princess again. She missed it. Stephanie had always been a big believer in how you look is how you feel, and she needed all the advantages she could possibly have when she saw Hunter again.  
  
"Ma'am? Would you like us to load this in your car for you?" Claudia had reappeared.  
  
"Oh, that would be great. Thank you." Stephanie pushed herself off the chair and opened the car for the clerks to load her packages in. "Thank you all so much for your help." Stephanie said, driving off. She arrived back at the hotel in only ten minutes and waved for a busboy to bring her packages up to the hotel. She spun around wildly when she heard a laugh-- Hunter's laugh. Her eyes roamed the courtyard in front of the hotel anxiously. But she didn't see him. He wasn't there, it had been her imagination. She had just wanted to see him so badly that her mind just conjured up that she'd heard him laughing. He had such a distinctive laugh though, she didn't know anyone else who had one quite like it, and she didn't know why she'd thought of it now when she was going to see him in only a day...Stephanie shook off what had to be deja vu and walked to the entrance in the hotel.  
  
"Hello, Mrs. Helmsley! I do believe these are for you." The conceirge smiled, holding out an absolutely huge bouquet of red, blood red roses.  
  
"Oh, they're gorgeous...who are they from?" She murmured pulling out the card. It read--  
  
For S--  
  
The most beautiful woman in the world.  
  
Meet me in Room 838.  
  
H.  
  
The key was even enclosed.All the color had drained from Stephanie's face and her hands trembled. She ran for the elevator, pushing the button that would get her on the floor of 838. She hadn't imagined it! Hunter was there, he was really there! And he'd come to see her, he'd come for her, and he didn't even know she was pregnant! She'd been a little disappointed by the fact that he hadn't even called her during these two months apart, and that she'd have to tell him she was having his baby in order to get him back, but now she didn't even have to! He had come to her! This gesture of his meant more than words could possibly say.  
  
Exiting the elevator, she made her way down the hall, still clutching the flowers to her chest. She went to Room 838 and almost knocked, but then she laughed at herself. Knocking at her husband's door. She fit the key to the lock and put a huge smile on her face, preparing to greet him.  
  
She swung the door open wide and then the entire bottom of Stephanie's world was pulled out from underneath her. She wasn't seeing this, she wasn't seeing this, she wasn't seeing this, no, no, no, no, NO! Her brain screamed shrilly. She wanted to move but she couldn't, her feet seemed to be glued to the floor.  
  
Stacy looked up from her position on top of Hunter on the bed and smiled, noticing Stephanie. Stacy pulled herself into a sitting position on Hunter's stomach and said "Stephanie, what the hell are you doing with my roses?" A low, choked sob was wrenched from Stephanie's throat as she managed to get out: "Your--your flowers?"  
  
"Yeah, I left them downstairs...I didn't feel like taking them up." Stacy said sweetly, like nothing in the world was wrong, and twirling a long lock of blonde hair around her index finger.  
  
"But--the key?" Stephanie whispered.  
  
"Oh, I was in such a hurry to get up here, and I forgot all about it, but luckily Hunter was still in the lobby so we just came on up a few minutes ago." Stacy continued.  
  
Cognizant thoughts didn't seem to be able to come together in Stephanie's head, much less sentences. Her jaw was moving, but nothing was coming out. Hunter was finally sitting up. He got off the bed and was pulling on a pair of jeans. His hazel eyes met Stephanie's brown steadily. Hunter didn't seem the least bit put out at being caught in the act. He just kept looking at her, studying her as a cat would watch a mouse. Stacy got up from the bed too, and all she was wearing was a small white slip. The color seemed entirely inappropriate and suddenly Stephanie found herself giggling at the thought. Both Stacy and Hunter looked at Stephanie uncertainly, probably wondering if she was cracking up or something, Stephanie thought, but that made her laugh even harder. But Stephanie sobered quickly when she saw Stacy making her way toward her. Stacy sauntered across the room and grabbed the roses from Stephanie's arms. The action stunned Stephanie who was unable to even move.  
  
Stacy had turned her back to Stephanie and walked back over to Hunter, reading the card out loud "Most beautiful woman in the world, Hunter, you are sooooo adorable, darling! I do so love all your little presents." She cooed, snaking an arm around his neck.  
  
"Stop this, now." Hunter whispered softly so only Stacy could hear, as he unwrapped her arms from his neck. "What, I'm just trying to show Stephanie a good time, just like you wanted." Stacy whispered back sarcastically.  
  
Stacy turned her attention back to Stephanie and said casually "So nice of you to drop them by...now, you can get out."  
  
Somehow something snapped inside of Stephanie McMahon Helmsley, and years of being Vince and Linda McMahon's only daughter brought every bit of poise under pressure that she possessed to the fore.  
  
"You know, it's so funny how you ended up in the exact same hotel as me. Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you just set this whole thing up, to purposely hurt me." Stephanie said quietly, ominously and raised her hand to stop him as she saw Hunter was about to speak. She continued, raising her voice. "You are one sick, twisted, son of a bitch, Hunter, and the people in the arenas may call me a whore and a slut, but do you know what the difference is between that situation and this one we're in here? The difference is that people just think I'm a slut, and Stacy actually is." And when she noticed Stacy's eyes flare as she made like she was going to come over to Stephanie, Stephanie said "I would stay exactly right where you are, you pathetic whore, because that is the safest place in the world for you now. You take one step toward me, and I just might throw you out that damn window. I doubt that even you will bounce back up after that fall. No, you just shut the hell up and listen to me, both of you. You know what?" Stephanie bit her lip wryly. "You're a lot of things, Hunter, but I would never have believed you were a cheater. Part of me still somehow doesn't even believe it, despite all of this. God, that makes me really pathetic, doesn't it just?" Stephanie took a deep breath: "So what, what? You just set this up? For me to find you having an affair? My God, how much you must hate me..." Stephanie trailed off, her eyes on Hunter again.  
  
And then her husband spoke his first words to her in two months: "You're right, Steph. This was no accident."  
  
"Wow, I just deserve a medal for that quick deduction, now don't I you fu-- Just go on."  
  
"Actually, I didn't know you would find out like this." Hunter said, and it took only a second for Stephanie to grasp the full meaning of his statement.  
  
"Find out like this? Find out what, exactly? What is going on? How long has this--whatever the hell you call this--been going on?" Stephanie cried out.  
  
Stacy chose to chime in: "I hate to break it to you, but it's been ever since Hunter found out about your little baby lie. You know, that there actually was no baby? Got to hand it to you Steph, that one is a classic. What did you think? Did you think he would just not notice that it's nine months later and hey! There's no baby?! That was beyond pathetic."  
  
She should tell him. She should tell him about their baby and watch him dump this blonde bunny like the plague she was, Stephanie deliberated. Her mouth opened to tell him he was going to be a father, but she realized she didn't want to tell him like this. It should be one of the best moments of their lives, something to be celebrated, and remembered, but to have it remembered connected with this event, she couldn't bear it. She couldn't do it. She didn't want to use it to make Hunter drop Stacy, she wanted him to do it of his own volition. But one thing was for certain: Someday Stacy Keibler would be sorry she had ever even heard the name Stephanie McMahon- Helmsley, much less that she had screwed her husband.  
  
The look that was emanating from Stephanie's face sent chills down Stacy's back but she shrugged it off. There was nothing Stephanie could do to her. She was out of the WWF, she had now power there any more, and now she didn't have Hunter. There was nothing the witch could do to her, Stacy thought jubilantly. And for a second she was exceedingly happy about that because if looks could kill...well, Stephanie had made it an art form.  
  
Hunter spoke again, stepping toward Stephanie. "Look, I didn't set this up for you to see us...like this. I didn't mean for you to get the roses. But you are right about me choosing this hotel because you were in it. I decided to come here for a reason."  
  
"And that reason is--?" Stephanie prompted.  
  
"I came for a divorce. I want to make this separation legal, I want a clean break."  
  
"A clean break?" Stephanie echoed dumbly.  
  
"Yes. Please, just sign the papers. We need to be out of each other's lives. This, this has to be over. I can't keep thinking about yo--about us-- about everything. I just can't take it anymore, and I know you feel the same way--"  
  
"I do?"  
  
"Yeah, don't you?"  
  
"I--I--I--Oh, God..." Stephanie whispered, forcing herself not to cry. She would not cry. She would NOT.  
  
"So just sign the papers, and now that you're not involved in the company anymore, we don't even ever have to see each other again. Don't you see that this is the best solution?" Hunter asked, pleadingly.  
  
"For the best. For the best? Yeah, I see that it would be for the best...so, do you have the papers?" Stephanie asked, still managing to hold it all together.  
  
"No, to tell you the truth, I didn't expect you to agree this quickly, but I'll have them tomorrow. Can I come by your suite tomorrow?"  
  
"Do whatever the hell you want. I don't care anymore." Stephanie said apathetically. She had to leave. She had to just get out of here. She couldn't breathe, and there were black dots just everywhere....she turned for the door and shut it behind her, completely ignoring them both.  
  
After staring at the door for a moment, Hunter threw Stacy's dress at her, saying curtly: "Put some clothes on."  
  
"Why? We're in a great room, we're already half undressed...why not just go all the way for real?" Stacy asked suggestively.  
  
"Oh, God, Stacy, give it up! Go back to your room." Hunter said, sitting on the bed tiredly.  
  
"Well, why not? Your wife thinks we're having an affair, just like you wanted. Why not make it for real?" Stacy asked, picking up Hunter's hand and placing it on her stomach, gratified to see him finally look up at her. 


	5. Chapter Five

Hunter looked down at the well-manicured hand which was fingering his stomach. Would this woman ever just give it up?, he wondered tiredly. There was a time in his life when he would have had no problem taking what Stacy was so happy to offer. Once upon a time he would have taken Stacy to bed for a couple of weeks or so, and then when he got bored, as he inevitably would, he would have just given her some kind of expensive bracelet or jewelry, said something like "These past weeks have been amazing, but you make me feel things I have never felt before, and to tell you the truth, that scares me. I've never felt this way about anyone before you, and I don't want to hurt you, so let's just stop this before either one of us gets hurt even more." That had been his old spiel, and it had worked like a charm. Women would fall all over that one, and it helped him because he didn't have to worry about old girlfriends with an ax to grind. His old way, they would both leave the relationship satisfied. And if the woman wasn't particularly happy about the ending of the relationship, she usually didn't make too much of a deal about it since she had gotten a nice piece of jewelry out of the deal.  
  
But that had been his life before Stephanie. Now, he didn't want to do that, not to any woman, not even with Stacy, who was no stranger to it all, he was certain. He wasn't blind to the fact she was manipulative and devious...it was why he had asked her to accompany him to New Orleans in the first place. He had known Stacy would have no problem in helping him blow up his marriage.  
  
Stacy, frustrated at Hunter's reaction--or lack thereof--decided to try another tact. She maneuvered herself behind him on the bed and began massaging his shoulders.  
  
It didn't even register to Hunter that Stacy had moved, so lost was he in his own thoughts. He couldn't get Stephanie's expression out of his mind when she had walked in the door of the suite. For a moment he swore his heart had stopped because she looked so breathtakingly beautiful, her hair shining in the light from the hallway. He had been so hungry for just the sight of her that he felt like a man in a desert finally getting his first drink of water in days. He had wanted to get up from the bed, grab her, throw her on the bed, show her how much he had missed her. It was the impulse of a crazy man.  
  
But that would have kind of defeated the whole damn plan, wouldn't it now, Hunter? His conscience taunted him. He had come down here with one express purpose in mind, and that was to cut his connection with Stephanie, no matter what it took. And he knew it would take a lot. No one knew, no one understood Stephanie the way he did. She would claw, scream and pick her way back into his life, no matter if he wanted her to or not. It was just the way she was, she just never knew when to give up.  
  
He remembered back to the night of their last match.  
  
That night, right after she had lost, he had found her in her dressing room. He remembered her surprised expression when he had come in the door, her hopefulness that he wouldn't make her leave the company, wouldn't make her keep her end of their bet, he knew. But instead, he had told her that he hated her for her lies, her schemes and her manipulations. She had allied herself with Jericho in order to hurt him and she had more than succeeded. She had told him she was pregnant, knowing how badly he wanted to be a father. She had humiliated him on National Television, in front of millions of people with the inner workings of their marriage. She kept trying to take complete credit for all of his work in the WWF. He knew how much she had helped with his career, but he had worked his ass off, and she knew that, she knew that, damn her! It had made him so angry that she could even speak to him that way, like he had been nothing before her. Maybe he hadn't been anyone before her in his personal life, but professionally, that was a different story. He had had enough with her pettiness and told her so, and much to his shock, she had actually started crying and said she didn't know why she had acted the way she did, she only knew she was sorry and she'd sell her soul for another chance to make things right again in their marriage. But he had told her that she just needed to leave, give him some space, and he didn't believe one word that came out of her mouth. Then then she had looked at him like a wounded bird and he had wanted so badly to just ignore the past months, tell her he loved her despite it all, and they would work it all out. Her eyes had begged him to say all of that.  
  
But the words just wouldn't come out of his mouth. He couldn't trust her anymore. So he told her to go wherever the hell she wanted, so long as it was thousands of miles away from him. He still remembered every single word of her parting shot, McMahon to the core: "Hunter, you may think this marriage is over, but it's not. We are meant to be together, and there is nothing, nothing you can do to change that fact. We're inevitable. We're like...we're like two halves of a puzzle that no one ever would have thought could possibly fit together, but we just somehow do. I screwed up, I've known that for a long time now, and I just keep digging myself in further. I know that, I just can't seem to do anything to fix it! I don't know how, but I know you'll forgive me someday. And when you do, hopefully you'll be able to find me. I...I love you. I'm not saying good-bye, because this is not good-bye."  
  
And with that, Stephanie had limped out of the room, down the hallway and into her car, driven off to parts unknown, leaving Hunter stunned with the calm certainty in which Stephanie had just spoken to him. And that had just made him even more angry, she was soooo damn sure that she would be forgiven. The hell he would forgive her.  
  
Hunter's head had been drooping slightly but it snapped up with a start, realizing Stacy was massaging his lower back. The only reason he was thinking about all of this now, he told himself, was because of Stephanie's devastated expression when she had first seen Stacy and him in the bed. He had been tempted to just stop this whole thing right then. But then she'd recovered so well. He wondered if maybe it had just been her pride which was wounded, if the actual thought of her husband having an affair didn't bother her one iota. As soon as he thought that, he dismissed it as untrue. Steph didn't let people in without one hell of a fight, but once they were in, they stayed in. So he had known it would take something big, something monumental, to get her to give up any illusions she had about their "inevitable" reconciliation. So he had thought on it, thought about simply calling her, telling her he wanted a divorce. But he knew she'd just try and find some way around it. He'd thought about just flying down to her, putting the papers and a pen in front of her and telling her to sign, but that wouldn't work either, he knew. She was a fighter, like him. She would fight for a marriage that was already dead, and he just didn't have the energy to fend her off at every pass, so he had known something drastic was required. He knew the plan was pretty stupid, having his wife believe he was having an affair when he actually wasn't, but it was the only thing he could come up with that Stephanie wouldn't be able to forgive and forget. And he had been right. Stephanie had said she was going to give him the divorce, and his life would be back to normal again, no more thinking about Stephanie 24/7, no more wondering what she was doing at all times of the day, and most importantly, no more weird dreams about Stephanie being in danger, or that she needed his help. He had cut their connection, whatever it was, for good now. And he was happy about it.  
  
He was.  
  
He really was.  
  
But apparently he still had Ms. Keibler to deal with. With a sigh, he turned around to face Stacy. Her eyes were shut, there was a small smile on her face.  
  
"Having fun?" he queried. He watched her eyes snap open.  
  
"He speaks!" Stacy teased mockingly. And then, answering his question, "Actually, yes."  
  
"I'm glad someone is. What you said to Stephanie, the way you acted, that was completely uncalled for. We accomplished my objective, which was only to have her find us together. There was absolutely no need to rub her face in it like that!" Hunter berated Stacy angrily.  
  
She finally stopped her massage. "You sound like you actually care about her." she said slowly.  
  
"Of course I care! She's my wife! I love--loved her! I didn't want to hurt her any more than was really necessary."  
  
"Hunter, I hate to break it to you, but people don't do things like this to people they love."  
  
"Yeah, most people don't. But I'm not most people, Stacy."  
  
"No, you really aren't." Stacy muttered, under her breath.  
  
"Look, thank you for playing along with this charade. It helped me more than you could ever know. But that's all this is, all this will ever be, a charade. This isn't the beginning of some kind of real affair for us, and you need to realize that."  
  
"I do, Hunter, I do--"  
  
"No, I don't really think you do get that! You keep coming on to me, and I don't appreciate it. I don't want to be cruel, but I'm just going to tell you straight out: I'm not interested. Not in you, not in any woman. I'm not going for a relationship with anyone, I just want to focus on my career and hold on to my belt for as long as I possibly can. I don't want any other entanglements, I don't want a bedtime buddy. You got that?"  
  
Stacy couldn't stop blinking at this about face of Hunter's. But she knew when discretion was the better part of valor, and she knew when to get the hell out of somewhere. This was definitely one of those times, because Hunter looked like he was about to blow.  
  
"Fine. You want me to go, I'll go. There are plenty--PLENTY of other fish in the sea, you--"  
  
"Oh, just go catch one! Get out!" Hunter yelled as he flew up from the bed, yanked open the door to the adjoining suite and motioned for her to leave. She walked past him haughtily as he slammed the door behind her, locking it. He leaned his head against the door for a brief moment and then threw himself back onto the bed. The back of his head landed on the roses. He didn't move. Despite all of this, despite the desperate game he had just played, and--won?, he still found himself wondering where Stephanie had run off to.  
  
"Ahhhhhhhhh!! Damn IT!" He yelled, frustrated over the whole mess. Then he pulled the crushed roses out from his head and flung them at the door, watching as the petals flew off the stems and floated downward to the floor. "There's your freaking flowers!" He yelled at no one in particular. 


	6. Chapter Six

That same night, in New York  
  
  
  
"Mr. McMahon? Mr. McMahon, sir, are you all right?"  
  
Vince McMahon was dimly aware of one of his secretaries, Chandra, asking that question, but he was still too angry--and much as he hated to admit it, afraid--to answer her. He composed himself and looked up at Chandra.  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm simply tired, it's been a long day. On your way out, send Mr. White in, will you?"  
  
"Of course, Mr. McMahon. Right away." Chandra murmured, exiting the room and leaving Vince with his face buried in his hands.  
  
"My God." Vince murmured, finally looking back at his computer screen. "My God. This has to stop." he spoke out loud as he scrolled down the e-mail he had just received open on his computer screen. When he had seen the e-mail, he had known it was him, whoever he was, and had opened it up, knowing he would be seeing more photos of his family, just like the last dozen e-mails he had received.  
  
But this time, the pictures were only of Stephanie.  
  
Stephanie, at her hotel in New Orleans. Drinking tea at a coffeehouse. Walking down a street. Entering her building.  
  
Vince scrolled down further, that cold icy feeling in his stomach starting to spread to his chest. The next photos were up close, not taken with a telephoto lens like all the others had been.  
  
That meant someone had had to have been within a few feet of his daughter to take them, within arms reach of her.  
  
There was Stephanie, in a bar, talking on her cell phone. Stephanie smiling at a bartender. Completely unaware.  
  
Shakily Vince removed his hand from the mouse when he saw Tom White approach. "I received this e-mail about thirty minutes ago." he told Tom. Tom White was his newest employee, hired because he was the best detective anywhere. Vince had had him specially flown in from Texas. For the past several weeks, he had been receiving dozens of e-mails, letters, calls. It had started out mildly enough. A few threats against him, telling him that soon he would be sorry, soon he'd be devastated. Vince was used to weird mail, he was a hated man, he knew that, accepted it. It came with the job. But then the calls had started, which was disturbing enough because no one ought to have been able to get his phone number. The threats had intensified, the caller getting more and more freakish, saying things like he was going to ruin Vince's life, the same way Vince had ruined his. Hell, Vince didn't even know for certain that he was a he because he'd used a vocal distorter in the calls. Vince was still managing to take it all in stride, trusting his security team to eventually nail the freak. But then the e-mails had started. The first one had been received a little more than a month ago, and then Vince had finally started to realize how serious this whole thing actually was. The content of the e-mails was pictures. And weird phrases. The phrase at the top of this one was "Soon, Vince, soon." The first e-mails had been pictures of his wife, Linda, just going about her daily business, completely oblivious to the fact that someone was stalking her every move. Then the pictures of Shane had come. This time was only the second time that there had been pictures of Stephanie, and this was the first time that the e-mail had contained pictures of just one person. And that one person was his little girl.  
  
Suddenly Vince realized Tom was talking to him, he hadn't been listening. "What? What were you saying?" he asked tiredly.  
  
"Sir, I was just saying that I really believe it's time to tell your daughter about this. She's completely unaware there's a threat to her. I know you were hoping that this guy wouldn't be able to find her, but now we know he's actually in New Orleans. She's unguarded, and she doesn't even realize she's in danger. Your daughter needs to be warned, Mr. McMahon."  
  
"Damn it! I didn't want her to worry about any of this, you know that, White!"  
  
"I know, sir, but she needs to know. Maybe your son-in-law will be able to talk to her." Tom replied.  
  
"Hunter? What are you talking about? Hunter and Stephanie are estranged....why would he be able to talk to her? They're not even in the same state." Vince growled.  
  
"Well, that's what I was about to tell you. Your son-in-law arrived in New Orleans a few hours ago tonight."  
  
"Hunter's with Stephanie? Well, thank God for small favors at least." Vince said, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest.  
  
"Mr. McMahon? I wouldn't have thought you'd be this happy to find out that your son-in-law is with your daughter. Considering your animosity toward him."  
  
"Normally, no, I wouldn't. I have the son-in-law from hell. But with everything going on, I can't help but be relieved. Hunter may be a s.o.b., but...."  
  
"But...?" Tom prompted, curious.  
  
"But he'll protect my daughter. He might despise her now, but trust me, I know Hunter. He would never let anyone hurt Stephanie, no matter what. That's why I'm happy he's there. At least she'll have some measure of protection until we can get some security down there."  
  
"So then we'll call Mr. Helmsley? Tell him about all of this?"  
  
"No, no, no...my security team will be down there in a day. I don't want Stephanie to worry about anything until I have a chance to talk with her, face to face."  
  
"Sir, I can't help but feel--"  
  
"I know, you disagree with my decision. I would never put Stephanie in any danger, but so far this guy hasn't done anything but make threats, and I don't want to tip him off that my team is on it's way. I don't want him leaving that city."  
  
"Am I to understand that we are using your daughter as bait?" Tom asked incredulously.  
  
"What?! Of course not! I admit, I want to catch this guy badly, after all, he is threatening my family, he's targeting me specifically...but I would never put my only daughter in jeopardy. Hunter's down there, he's enough protection for now."  
  
"Even though he doesn't even know to look out."  
  
"Yes...much as I hate to admit it, my daughter's husband is an intelligent man, always on his guard. He may not realize there's trouble around him, but he'll still be on the lookout for it. Trust me, this is the right way to play this, Tom."  
  
"If you say so, Mr. McMahon." Tom said doubtfully. Inwardly, he had to wonder about the man in front of him, so able to sell out his own daughter, put her at risk, at the drop of a hat.  
  
Back in New Orleans  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, the subject of the intense conversation across the country was sitting alone on a bench in the park, having walked aimlessly for about half an hour. Stephanie looked down at her shoes and swayed her legs back and forth. She had started crying a few blocks ago and she was only now able to finally stop. She kept seeing Hunter and Stacy in her mind, seeing them on that bed...together. Every time she blinked her eyes she saw them entwined with each other. Stephanie carefully laid down on her side and curled her legs on the park bench, her arms folded over her shoulders, as if she was trying to keep all of the pain locked away inside. She was so tired. But the walk had cleared her head a little bit at least, and just lying here was comforting too. She looked up at the sky, thinking about everything in her life that was wrong.  
  
She had started this day so full of hope for her future. And now everything in her entire world had just fallen out from under her and she didn't know what to do about it. Her first impulse had been to march straight back to the hotel room, slap that witch Stacy into the next century, shove her husband on the bed and show him how there was no possibility in the world that Stacy could ever compare to her in anything, much less in their bed. Her second impulse had been to march back to the hotel room and slap both Stacy and Hunter into the next century and tell Hunter she'd give him a divorce over her cold, dead body. Her third impulse was just to head for the airport, book a flight and pretend she'd never even heard of Hunter Hearst-Helmsley in her life. But she hadn't done any of them, because the truth was, she just didn't know what she was doing anymore about anything.  
  
But one thing was for certain, she couldn't lay on this park bench for the entire night. With a sigh, Stephanie sat up. Whatever she was going to do, she couldn't decide tonight. She just wasn't up for thinking. She decided to head back for the hotel. That was when Stephanie realized she wasn't alone. Her heart started racing as she saw a man coming out from the shadows behind the swings. He must have noticed that she had started to freak out because the man called out and held up his hands. "Hey! Hey, it's okay, I just saw you on the bench, and I was wondering if you were okay. I'm harmless, I promise."  
  
"Um, I'm fine, but you just startled me. I'm...I'm going now."  
  
Stephanie stammered.  
  
"Well, you shouldn't be going alone this late at night. Let me walk you to your car?" The man offered.  
  
Stephanie didn't know why but she was starting to shake. Must be the stress of everything that's happened today, she told herself. "No, I...I don't need an escort. I'm just going to go. But thank you." Stephanie then, not quite turning her back on the man, started walking quickly in the general direction of the hotel.  
  
"Okay, bye! Nice meeting you!" she heard the man call, but she ignored him, instead walking quicker, in a sort of half walk, half run. She couldn't hear him behind her, but if she had she probably would have started in a full out run.  
  
The man was chuckling softly, fingering the camera in his leather jacket. His employer would be pleased, he had gotten some great bench shots of the lovely Mrs. McMahon Helmsley tonight. This was the easiest job he'd ever had, watching a woman who looked this good.  
  
Stephanie, meanwhile was halfway back to the hotel in a matter of minutes. She arrived at the door of her suite soon after, quite out of breath. She didn't know why that guy in the park had so unnerved her, but at least he hadn't come after her. She had been so stupid to go off like that, even upset as she was. She had to be more careful, after all, the world just wasn't the safest place for anyone, much less a pregnant young woman who hadn't even had a car to run to. She shook her head in disbelief of her stupidity. She'd be more careful from now on, she'd learned her lesson. Stephanie fit the key to the lock and swung open the door.  
  
Closing the door behind her, she turned around. She was stunned to see the man who was sitting on the edge of her bed.  
  
"I can't believe it's you!" Stephanie said, and walked quickly over to hug him. 


	7. Chapter Seven

"I can't tell you how happy I am to have a friend right now." Stephanie said tearfully as she embraced him.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey....what's wrong?" Kurt Angle asked, instantly standing to return Stephanie's tight hug.  
  
"The better question would be what isn't wrong!" Stephanie cried out. "Everything was supposed to finally be wonderful and perfect and now everything is just messed up and I--"  
  
"Shhh...Steph, okay, let's start at the beginning." Kurt said, his voice low as he stroked her hair.  
  
"I don't--I don't know where to start."  
  
"You look like you're going to pass out or something. Sit down, I'll get you something to drink. Vodka martini, right?" Kurt asked as he made his way to the mini-bar.  
  
"Right--no, wrong... just a mineral water, please." Stephanie said.  
  
"You look like you need something stronger than that. Here, take the martini."  
  
"No! I don't want one! I just--drinking's not going to solve anything for me. Just the water."  
  
"Okay, fine. Here you go. Now, tell me why you're so upset."  
  
Stephanie looked into Kurt's face. "I just--what are you doing here?" she asked softly.  
  
"Well, I haven't seen you in a couple months and I was worried about you so I decided to fly on down. I hope that's okay?"  
  
"It's more than okay. I just--I need someone to talk to, so I'm really glad you're here. But as for what's wrong...do you have the entire night?" she asked tiredly.  
  
"For you, Steph, of course I do."  
  
Stephanie smiled at Kurt then, her first genuine smile in what felt like ages. "Okay, I guess the thing that's really making me so upset right now would be that my husband is cheating on me with that blonde twit Stacy Keibler."  
  
Kurt blinked, stunned. Oh, man, this was sooo much better than he could possibly have hoped. He couldn't have planned this better himself. He'd always known Hunter was the biggest idiot on the planet, and finally, FINALLY, he had proven it. But he couldn't let Stephanie know his happiness at the thought of her dissolving marriage, so he quickly adopted a sympathetic face. "Oh, Steph, I'm so sorry. How did you find out?" he asked.  
  
"I walked in on them at the hotel, here--it was so horrible. I just--I wanted to crawl up in a hole and die..." Stephanie said, disgusted that tears were starting to fall again.  
  
"You didn't deserve that, Steph. You mean he's here? You want me to go kick his ass?"  
  
"It's um, sweet of you to offer but, no, he's not worth it." Stephanie said out loud, but mostly she was just doubting his actual ability to hurt Hunter. Kurt was strong, but Hunter's strength was almost inhuman and when he got really into a fight, he was pretty much unbeatable.  
  
"Okay. So go on. What else?"  
  
And then Stephanie proceeded to tell him the whole story about how she had come across Stacy and Hunter, and how he said he wanted a divorce. She paused for a moment, debating over whether or not to tell Kurt about her pregnancy. The problem was she was so confused about everything. She didn't know what she wanted anymore.  
  
Okay, that wasn't exactly right, Stephanie admitted to herself. She knew what she wanted. Despite his utter and complete stupidity in sleeping with Stacy, she still wanted her husband, and she wanted her family together. But she just didn't know if she could forgive him. And even if she could forgive him, she didn't know that he could forgive her...he was so angry about her lies, and she really couldn't blame him. But there had to be a way to get past all of this. There had to! One thing she knew she was certain about and that was that she still loved Hunter, and she always would. She'd tried to stop but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't cut her feelings off for him, she couldn't cut him out of her heart and her life. They were, well, there really was no other word for it-- soulmates. He was her other half, the only person who had really ever understood her and loved her for the woman she was, not just her surname. And now there was the baby to consider as well. Some primitive part of her believed the baby was destiny--her way back into her husband's heart.  
  
There had to be a way out of this mess.  
  
And suddenly it hit her. There was. There was a way out of this mess and it was standing in the same room with her! She looked up at Kurt who was fixing himself another glass of grapefruit juice. He would help her, she knew. It would be an opportunity for him to stick it to Hunter, and she knew he wouldn't be able to pass it up. If this plan worked the way she thought it would, Hunter would finally see everything he thought he was so desperate to get rid of and he'd fight like hell to get it all back. At least, she prayed he still loved her enough to fight for her. And as an added bonus, she'd get a little payback for the whole Stacy debacle. The decision was made, and all she could hope was that it was the right way to play this out. Hunter was a strong, proud man, and it would take a bit of unconventionality on her part to get him to see the light.  
  
"Kurt?" Stephanie asked hesitantly. "How would you like to be a father?" She watched in amusement as Kurt sputtered the grapefruit juice out of his mouth. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.  
  
  
  
The next morning  
  
  
  
Well, he'd put it off as long as he could. He'd eaten, then showered, after the clerk from the law firm had dropped off the divorce papers. Hunter looked distastefully at the papers sitting on his bed. It somehow didn't sit well with him that a bunch of papers could just instantly dissolve his marriage, but that's the way it was. He pulled out a Bic and scribbled his name on the pages. He picked up the papers and left his room, getting into the elevator and getting off on Stephanie's floor. He quickly located her room and before he could change his mind, rapped three times on her door. He saw a shadow of movement behind the peephole and schooled himself to show no expression whatsoever.  
  
To his utter shock, it wasn't Stephanie pulling open the door but that jackass Kurt Angle. "What the hell are you doing here? Where's my wi-- Stephanie?" Hunter demanded, shouldering his way past Angle.  
  
"She's right here!" Stephanie's voice sang out as she emerged from her bathroom.  
  
"What is he doing here?" Hunter demanded angrily, gesturing to Angle.  
  
"He's my friend, he's here and I really don't have to say any more than that, now do I?" Stephanie asked defensively.  
  
"Are you having an affair with him!?" Hunter asked incredulously.  
  
"Why would you even care? You're sleeping with Stacy now and why would you even care who I'm with?"  
  
"Damn it, I am not slee--Stephanie, just answer the question!" he demanded lividly.  
  
"What were you going to say, Hunter...you were going to say something and-- " Stephanie began hopefully.  
  
"I wasn't going to say anything except that--I want a divorce!" he yelled, slamming the papers onto the desk in the room and pulling the cap off a pen. He shoved the pen into her hand. "Here. Let's get this mockery of a marriage over with. We can go our separate ways!" he said.  
  
Stephanie swallowed hard. No! This wasn't supposed to happen! Not like this! She had to stall this, she couldn't sign, not now! She looked at Hunter pleadingly but saw nothing in his expression but pure rage. There was no way he was going to let her not sign these papers. But she couldn't! She couldn't let it all end like this, at least not without one hell of a fight! She glanced sideways at Hunter again as her eyes looked over the papers, the words not making the slightest bit of sense to her.  
  
Just when she was starting to panic, an idea occurred to her. So Hunter wanted a signature did he? She'd give him a signature. She quickly moved her body in front of the papers and scribbled hurriedly. She did the same thing on the second page and shut the document's cover page and handing it back to Hunter forcefully. "Fine! It's done! Now, get OUT of my room!" She yelled, praying he was so angry he wouldn't actually read them.  
  
Hunter looked at her face for a moment. It almost seemed as though he were...disappointed? She wondered hopefully. But her gamble had paid off, he wasn't looking at the papers.  
  
Still looking at her face, as if he were almost memorizing it he said "This really--it's for the best, Stephanie. It's over. I'll be flying back to New York tonight, Smackdown's tomorrow...so we won't have to see each other anymore." he said hollowly. Then he just turned around and left.  
  
Kurt meanwhile, had watched this entire exchange elatedly. She was divorced! And he'd do everything in his power to make her stay that way. This was his chance, the chance he'd waited nearly two years for. He'd have Stephanie now, Stephanie, an invaluable ally. All his life he'd thought women were the parasites of the species. They'd weaken the will, destroy the spirit, but Stephanie would be much more of a help to him than a hindrance. So what if she was pregnant with Hunter's child? There were ways to overcome that. All that mattered was that she focus all of her attention on helping him finally get the respect in the Federation that he so richly deserved.  
  
But there was something in Stephanie's expression that gave him a moment's pause. "Steph?" he queried.  
  
She smiled at Kurt. "Yeah?"  
  
"You're taking this awfully well." he commented.  
  
"I know, aren't I? But I told you last night what my plan was, Kurt."  
  
"But I thought--"  
  
"What?" Stephanie cut him off. "What, that just because Hunter thinks we're divorced that I'd drop the plan? No, Kurt, it's going full steam ahead. Exactly like I said."  
  
"What do you mean--"thinks we're divorced"? Kurt asked, forcing himself to take a deep breath as the rage he was starting to feel was beginning to make his the air seem red.  
  
"We'll Kurt, do I look like "Mrs. Abraham Lincoln?" Stephanie teased.  
  
"Mrs.--What?!"  
  
"I didn't sign my actual name! And if I know Hunter, which I do, he won't even look at those papers! He'll just send them back to his attorney."  
  
"And don't you think that maybe they'll notice this?" Kurt asked sarcastically.  
  
"They'll notice what I pay them to notice. Stephanie said crossly, already pulling out her cell phone. She checked her address book and dialed hers and Hunter's attorney's office. Luckily, the executive secretary at the law firm had worked closely with Stephanie on quite a few WWF Contracts, and Stephanie knew that the girl--with the proper incentive, of course--could be persuaded to overlook the documents for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, that would be all the time she needed. So lost was she in her conversation, Stephanie didn't notice Kurt Angle's enraged visage. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Thursday Afternoon (Smackdown! Night) New York City  
  
Stephanie smiled gratefully at the waiter who showed her to her table in the restaurant. She sat, enjoying the feeling of just not being standing. Everything in her legs was just killing her, and she realized it was time for her prenatal vitamin this morning, so she rummaged through her purse and downed the pill with a glass of water while waiting for her lunch companion.  
  
The flight from New Orleans had actually been rather peaceful. Stephanie was happy that Hunter and Stacy weren't on the same flight as she and Kurt had been. Kurt's expression when she had told him that they were setting her plan into motion today had been utterly priceless. She had taken the earliest flight to New York as had been possible, much to Kurt's dismay. He had slept the entire time on the plane, and his head kept falling onto her shoulder. Now her shoulder hurt because his head was just so darn heavy.  
  
Stephanie had left Kurt at his hotel and she had instead called ahead and asked her mother if she could stay with her in her and dad's penthouse in Brooklyn. Her mother had been only too happy to agree and Stephanie had sent all of her luggage over. She had then proceeded to call her father and finally had persuaded him to have lunch with her. She could tell her father was suspicious of Stephanie flying into New York when Smackdown was happening tonight, and he was right to be. But she knew the proposition she had for him would completely blow him out of the water--in a good way.  
  
"Hey, sweetheart." She heard her father's voice behind her as she sat up straight to hug him. "Hi, Dad. Thanks for coming." she replied.  
  
"Of course I came. I haven't seen you ever since--well--"  
  
"The match from hell?" Stephanie quipped.  
  
"Yes. I've been meaning to call, but everything's been so chaotic--"  
  
"I know you're busy, Dad, that's why I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. Especially with Smackdown on tonight. How is everything going, you know, with the draft?" she asked casually as her eyes half perused the menu, and half studied her father's every reaction.  
  
"It's okay, I suppose. Flair's ratings are doing better with Raw. But I'll get them back up there, you know me." Vince said, off-handedly.  
  
But Stephanie knew better. She knew how competitive her father was, she knew that it had to be killing him to have Ric Flair beat him in anything. She was counting on her father's competitiveness, in fact.  
  
"Dad--" she began, but was cut off by the reappearance of the waiter. "Oh, I'll just have the chicken in olive oil," she murmured. Her father ordered smoked salmon. The waiter left discreetly, and Stephanie began again.  
  
"Dad, I think I'm just going to get straight to the point. I've been looking over those contracts that ban me from the WWF and so have my lawyers and--"  
  
It was Vince who interrupted now: "So have my lawyers, Steph. It's airtight, or so they tell me." he said with a hint of sadness in his tone.  
  
"No, actually...there is one little loophole. And that's why I've brought you here, to tell you about it." Stephanie inhaled. Time to bring out the big guns, she knew. She reached over to take her father's hand and looked at him with her "You're my daddy and if you only tried you can make everything in my world perfect" expression. She saw his eyes immediately harden over, then his face softened. Inwardly, she smiled. She had him. "Daddy, I need you. You're the only one who can help me, and I think I can help you out, too. Interested?" she smiled demurely. Her father looked at her and nodded, his interest piqued. Vince knew his daughter's snowball routine well, but somehow, his daughter always ended up getting whatever it was that she wanted. He suspected this time would be no different, but from her expression, he could tell she had something truly Machiavellian in mind. He leaned forward and hoped he wouldn't regret this--she was every inch Vince McMahon's daughter after all-- and said "Okay, shoot."  
  
At the end of her speech, Vince was suitably impressed--and proud. "Sweetheart, you are an--an inspiration." he said delighted--it really was quite an interesting proposition his daughter had made.  
  
"So then, you agree?" Stephanie asked eagerly, awaiting his answer with baited breath.  
  
"Hmm...the chance to stick it to Flair, get the ratings for Smackdown through the roof, work with my daughter again...well, I guess I'd have to agree." Vince smiled.  
  
"I knew you'd see how great this is!" Stephanie cried. She got up from the table and wrapped her arms around her father. "Wow, we have a lot to do, and only a few hours to do it in." she said and they paused their discussion for a moment as the waiter set down their food. There was a moment of silence when they each started to eat, but soon the table was filled with hushed discussion of their plans for the night.  
  
Lunch was soon finished, and Vince was in such a jubilant mood, he paid the tab. This was perfect! All of the things he told Stephanie were true, that this would be a great scheme, but he was also pleased about the fact that now Stephanie would be protected again and he could stop worrying quite so much about her safety. Everything was coming together quite well.  
  
Father and daughter climbed into Vince's limousine and sped off into the heavy New York traffic. Tonight was going to be a night to remember, they both knew.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, elsewhere in New York...  
  
"So I'll see you at the Gardens tonight, Hunter." Stacy said as she stepped out of the taxi.  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Bye." Hunter said curtly, not really caring one way or the other.  
  
Stacy slammed the door shut in his face, walking up the stairs to her hotel room as the busboy dragged her luggage with him. Talk about the plane ride from hell, she thought. She had tried every way she could to engage Hunter in conversation, but he was still moping around. He'd said something about Kurt Angle last night, broken a vase and went to bed. Was that all he ever did? Break things and think about his witch of an ex-wife 24/7/365? She was beginning to wonder. She shook her head as she entered the lobby and ran smack into a hard body. "Ow!" She yelled. "Watch where you're going, you ape--oh, hi, Kurt." Stacy said, rubbing her face.  
  
"YOU watch where you're going, you almost crushed an Olympic Hero."  
  
"Oh, go screw yourself." Stacy said crossly.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I did not just here you talking to me like that!"  
  
"Then you're deaf as well as an idiot. Just get out of my way." Stacy told him.  
  
"More than happy to." Kurt said, letting her pass.  
  
"Women." Kurt sighed. "Can't live with them--period."  
  
  
  
Half an Hour Before Smackdown!  
  
  
  
Stephanie hated to admit it, but she was nervous. This was her first show in weeks, and she didn't know what kind of reception she was going to get, either among the fans or the wrestlers.  
  
Allright, yeah, she did know the reception she was going to get. Pure, unadulterated hatred. But she didn't care, it would be a blast. Whether anyone realized it or not, this was her night, and it was going to be spectacular. Tonight was the beginning of a new beginning for her and Hunter, and she was going to make one hell of a show out of it. Stephanie smiled in the full length mirror, turning around to make sure her clothes looked as good as possible. She was wearing a long black pantsuit with a red silk shirt, long stiletto heels, because let's face it she thought, I'm not going to be able to wear them for much longer, and her hair was swept up in a fantastic style. Her makeup was perfect--not too much, not too little. She looked good. Mouth-wateringly good, she thought in satisfaction. She knew Stacy'd come out there wearing some short little skirt and and Stephanie didn't feel like competing with that. Hunter, for whatever reason, liked her in pants, he always said he loved the way they fit her legs. Once he'd even said that she shouldn't wear pants anymore when they were in the ring because all he could think about was getting her out of them. Her husband was probably the only man on earth who didn't especially appreciate skirts. And red was his favorite color, especially the deep wine red shade she was wearing now.  
  
Well, if they said you only feel as good as you look, Stephanie knew she should be feeling really good right about now. But she wasn't. She was starting to have doubts about what she was about to do. Would Hunter be willing to play her game? And if he didn't, what would she do? But one thing, one thing was absolutely clear to her. She could not use this baby to reel him back in. She'd never try and keep him away from their child, so if they didn't work this out, she knew she couldn't use this baby as a weapon to keep him in-line. She couldn't hide the truth from him forever, but she could for a little while. She had to make him see that he really still loved her, and the amazing life they could have with each other and this plan was the only way she could think of to do that. She sighed, turned away from the mirror. She could only hope that Hunter reacted the way she thought he would. He would go through denial of his feelings, anger at her, and then finally, he'd get it together and start fighting for his woman.  
  
At least, God willing, he would.  
  
Stephanie turned on the radio and flipped through a few channels, stopping on one of her new favorite songs. KoRn was playing...she usually didn't like their music, but this song felt curiously apt, especially for tonight. She turned up the dial and started mouthing some of the words along with the singer.  
  
(***Note: Um, people under sixteen, the lyrics are a little volatile, so if you don't want to read them, just scroll on down...thanks.)  
  
This time I'm taking it away, I've got a problem  
  
When they getting in the way, not by my side  
  
So I take my face and bash it into a mirror  
  
I won't have to see the pain  
  
This pain is elevating, as the hurt turns into hating  
  
Anticipating all the fucked up feelings again  
  
My hurt inside is fading  
  
This shit's gone way too far  
  
All this time I've been waiting  
  
Oh I cannot breath anymore  
  
For what's inside awaking  
  
I'm not, I'm not a whore  
  
You've taken everything and  
  
Oh I cannot give anymore  
  
My mind's done with this  
  
So hey, I've got a question  
  
Can I throw it all away?  
  
And at this part, Stephanie started yelling with the lyrics outloud, giddily:  
  
Take back what's mine  
  
So I take my time  
  
Driving humbly down the line  
  
Each cut, closer to the vein  
  
This pain is elevating, as the hurt turns into hating  
  
Anticipating all the fucked up feelings again  
  
The hurt inside is fading  
  
This shit's gone way too far  
  
All this time I've been waiting  
  
Oh, I cannot grieve anymore  
  
For what's inside awaking  
  
I'm not, I'm not a whore  
  
You've taken everything and  
  
Oh I cannot give anymore  
  
I'm here to stay -bring it down-  
  
Bring it down!  
  
Gonna bring it down  
  
Gonna break it down  
  
Gonna break it  
  
This pain is elevating, as the hurt turns into hating  
  
Anticipating all the fucked up feelings again  
  
My hurt inside is fading  
  
This shit's gone way too far  
  
All this time I've been waiting  
  
Oh, I cannot grieve anymore  
  
For what's inside awaking  
  
I'm not, I'm not a whore  
  
You've taken everything and  
  
Oh I cannot give anymore  
  
Give anymore  
  
The song ended on a mournful note and Stephanie realized it was indeed showtime when she heard her father's voice calling for her outside the door. She felt sort of campy saying it, but said it nonetheless, as a kind of Good Luck omen. "Time to play the game." she said softly, shutting the door behind her, taking her father's arm and walking out of the dressing room. She ignored the stunned silence of everyone who was now recognizing her in the building, lifted her head, and walked out onto the Smackdown ramp, arm in arm with her father, as the crowd, much to her shock started half-screaming in delight, broke out in thunderous applause as her theme song came on. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Stephanie could feel the excitement radiating out from her father, and she was feeling it too. Neither of them had expected it in the least, but the audience was actually excited to see them--or rather, her. They'd been booing Vince for these past couple months on a regular basis, so it stood to reason all of this cheering was for her sake alone.  
  
It was strange, but Stephanie felt like she was coming home. The thousands of people in the audience, and the millions watching at home might despise her, call her names, hate her, but they loved to hate her, and that made all the difference to her. She didn't mind that she was hated with a passion by the fans, no, she fed off of it. They were her people, after all, her family's livelihood, and Stephanie had always had a great appreciation for the fans, even if they weren't hers--they were in a matter of speaking though, family, and she felt she needed to give them a good show of it whenever possible. After all, she had invited them into the deepest recesses of her own private life, and into her own marriage and close friendships, so she felt a certain connection with everyone.  
  
No, she didn't mind the hatred, but much to her surprise, she was rather enjoying the nice reaction the audience was giving her. It was almost as if they knew that from now on, nothing was ever going to be the same. She had known that, intellectually, at least since she'd thought up this scheme, but now her body was confirming it. Every nerve ending seemed to be on fire, her legs felt like they were ready to jump sky high...it was a pure adrenaline rush, and Stephanie loved it. She was here to reclaim her life and it seemed like everything was just falling into place somehow...she couldn't explain that intuition but that was exactly how she was feeling. Stephanie smiled up at her father as he held the ropes open for and she carefully stepped inside of the ring, holding the microphone to her mouth. She gave the audience a coquettish smile, took a nearly unnoticeable deep breath and looked out at the still yelling crowd.  
  
"I know what must be running through everyone's minds. And I can't blame you for being confused, either. I know you're all wondering what the blue hell is she doing here? I mean hey, Triple H took me out, got me out of the Federation for good, right?"  
  
The crowd suddenly seemed uncertain where she was going with her opening statement, but Stephanie heard quite clearly some kid in the third row saying how she shouldn't use The Rock's catch phrase flippantly, and whatever nervousness Stephanie had been feeling suddenly drained out of her and she wanted to laugh. The kid had actually been upset over the 'blue hell' remark, like she'd been caught using Jesus' name in vain or something. This was so delicious.  
  
"Well, at least, Triple H THOUGHT it was for good!" she screamed louder. "I'm back, and I think that you deserve to know how it's possible. It was, after all, supposed to be an airtight contract keeping me out of all WWF dealings FOREVER, now wasn't it, Dad?" she prompted.  
  
Her father picked up his cue. "Yes, it certainly was, Stephanie. But luckily, our lawyers found a loophole. It's true you cannot participate as a valet or anything like how you previously participated in the workings of the WWF, escorting friends or--Vince paused in disgust--ex-husbands--to matches, but you can still have a role to play. In this case, a very important, powerful role."  
  
The audience was starting to shake, feeling like the whole face of the WWF had changed. And as a collective whole, they were happy about it. Stagnation had started to settle in, but now with Stephanie back, there was a vibe in the audience that said she was going to take them on one heck of a ride. And they were right.  
  
"Yes, but whoever would take me as an assistant?" Stephanie grinned, asking innocently, deliberately provoking the audience.  
  
"Someone with impeccable taste, someone who is in desperate need of an intelligent, bright woman with experience in this company who can help him run a multi-billion dollar corporation....in other words, Me!"  
  
The audience popped at this.  
  
Vince continued, a huge, sinister grin on his face, thinking of that jackass Flair who had to be watching at home. Take this, he thought, punching Flair in his imagination: "So late this morning, my beautiful daughter and I agreed to start out a partnership of sorts. Stephanie is now my executive assistant, with all of the rights and privileges that position entitles her to. Which of course includes, helping to decide which matches take place--"  
  
Now there was the beginnings of grumblings, but still the audience seemed to be excited over the proposition of Stephanie setting up matches again. They all knew she wasn't exactly the fairest person around, but she definitely knew how to dream up some interesting matches.  
  
"--along with assisting me in dealings with all of the WWF Superstars on Smackdown. She will have the authority to deal with anyone in this company as she so chooses, so long as she has my approval, and let me assure you all, I cannot fathom at this point, anything that I would disapprove of. As a matter of fact--" Vince was suddenly cut off by Kurt Angle's theme music. The audience immediately started booing. Vince was irate but Stephanie quickly whispered "Trust me, dad...all part of the plan." Vince looked at Stephanie suspiciously.  
  
Stephanie quickly walked over to the other end of the ring and when Kurt stepped through the ropes she wrapped her arms around him and threw her legs around his waist. He hadn't been prepared for that, but quickly adjusted his stance. Hunter, you had sooo better be watching right now, Stephanie thought to herself.  
  
Hunter of course, was watching on the television, seething behind the stage. Stacy was also watching next to him, along with everyone else who had found out Stephanie was back, everyone craning for a look. Somehow though, everyone managed to keep a safe distance from Hunter. It was wise, Stacy thought, because the man looked like he was going to pop. Funny enough though, he had been watching with a modicum of amusement mixed in with the anger, at least until Kurt had run out. Then it had been all anger.  
  
But back on stage, Stephanie and Kurt were in the middle of an extremely well-rehearsed play. Kurt picked up his mike and started speaking: "Stephanie, this is such a wonderful surprise! I knew you'd find a way back into the WWF--and a way back to me (--the audience roared, half in anger, half in laughter--) but I didn't think that it would be this quick! All I can say is, and I KNOW I speak for all the fans too--Welcome home, beautiful!" Kurt was really laying it on, Stephanie thought. But now it was time. Just like they'd practiced. She opened her mouth to speak, but somehow, nothing was coming out.  
  
Come on Steph, you can do this, you can do this...Oh, God, who am I kidding? she thought. I can't do this. I can't do this at all. How can I? This is so wrong, this could blow up in my face--but I have to! She argued with herself. That's all there was to it, she had to do this. This was her plan, she had to see it through, so just SAY it! She told herself firmly.  
  
"Well, I'm glad you like surprises, Kurt, because I have one more for you! Congratulations, you're going to be a daddy!" she yelled jubilantly, trying to laugh in order to cover up the tears that inexplicably were starting to fall. This was just deja vu all over again, standing in a ring, saying she was pregnant. Only difference was that last time she was in the ring with the man that she wanted to father her children, and this time she wasn't. Well, that and the fact that this time she actually was pregnant. Kurt was yelling "Yes!" and picking her off her feet, twirling her around. Funny, last time it had happened just like this, but with Hunter doing the twirling. Last time she'd been filled with happiness, this time she just felt like she was going to throw up. Actually, she really did think she was going to throw up...  
  
"Yes, that's right, Kurt, we're having a baby!" she yelled again, for good measure. Where the hell was Hunter? her brain cried out. What if she'd miscalculated? What if he didn't come out? She'd thought this through, all of it, and in every scenario she'd envisioned, the success of her plot settled on one thing: Hunter had to come into the ring now! He had to, otherwise this whole thing was dead before it even started. Tears were starting to fall freely down her face, and it might have looked like tears of happiness, but in reality, they were tears that betrayed her fear. If he didn't come out...Please come out, Hunter, she prayed silently, please, please, please, I love you so much, don't let it end like this....come out, damn you! 


	10. Chapter Ten

"Kurt? Kurt! You need to stop throwing me around like this...I'm feeling really sick." Stephanie mumbled, her eyes still fixated on the ramp. He wasn't coming. Hunter wasn't coming out....she needed to go and throw up somewhere. "Kurt. Put. Me. Down. Now!" Stephanie emphasized, her breathing shaky. Kurt finally complied and looked down at her curiously. Stephanie swallowed, blinking back her tears furiously, reached down to pick up the mike and--  
  
Her husbands' theme music blared over the arena. Stephanie looked back up at the ramp and saw Hunter coming down, looking royally ticked off. She bit back a smile, and tried to look at him venomously, but she couldn't quite manage it because she was so excited and relieved at the mere sight of him. Stephanie sent out a silent thank you to whatever god was listening.  
  
Game, set and match, Hunter...the ball's in your court now. Stephanie moved closer to Vince as Hunter stepped through the ropes to the thunderous applause of the audience. Hunter walked straight over to Vince and grabbed the mike from his hands, leaving Vince stupefied for a moment. Then Vince started to protest, but one look at Hunter's face stopped him in mid sentence. Vince gave Stephanie a pitying look.  
  
"So, you're having a baby, then? Wow! Congratulations to the happy couple! Everyone, send your love!" Hunter directed the audience.  
  
The audience was loving this, and started booing appropriately.  
  
"You know, when those words popped out of your mouth there Steph, I got to thinking: This feels like deja vu all over again! You're up here, saying you're pregnant, but we both know it's not true. This time around, why don't you just admit it right off? You're pulling another stunt, all in order to weasel your way back into the Federation. Admit it, damn it!"  
  
"No...that's not what I'm doing at all! Kurt and I are having a baby together...we're in love!" Stephanie protested. He wasn't supposed to believe she was faking this! But she really should have known he'd believe that.  
  
"Oh, come ON, Steph! This is another one of your pathetic lies! Only this time, the poor sucker in question is you, Angle."  
  
At this, Kurt came alive. "Hey, hey, hey! You may not believe Stephanie is having my child, but let me assure you it's true, it's true!"  
  
"Really? You're actually falling for this? Man, I thought I was stupid having fallen for it the first time around, but you have to be a real moron to believe it this time."  
  
"Take that back, Hunter. You're being rude to Stephanie." Kurt said loudly, stepping to Stephanie's side.  
  
Stephanie meanwhile, was trying to figure out a way to get this confrontation back on track. Things that needed to be said weren't getting said and she had to get this back in order.  
  
"Hunter, I know that you're upset, but you really have no reason to be...we are divorced, after all!" The audience cheered loudly at the announcement that everything had been finalized, that the McMahon-Helmsley Era was officially over.  
  
"You know what? You're right! You're absolutely right, Stephanie." Hunter came toward her slowly, so that there were only inches separating their faces. Hunter looked into Stephanie's eyes, probing, searching for what? Stephanie wondered. Whatever it was that he was searching for, he'd found it, because he turned his back to Stephanie and faced Angle.  
  
"She's lying, Angle. I can read it in her eyes. She isn't telling the truth at all. There is NO baby, yet again."  
  
"No! That's where you're wrong!" Stephanie yelled. "There is a baby--I am having the child of the man that I love." Stephanie said, looking straight into Hunter's eyes. She saw him blink and swallow. He had seen the truth in her eyes, but he should have listened more carefully to her words. He rasped into the microphone as he turned to Kurt again.  
  
"If I were you, I'd demand a pregnancy test." Then he looked back at Stephanie and moved as though he were about to exit the ring, one leg dropping between the ropes. Then he paused for a moment, and pulled the leg back in. "And Kurt? One thing is for certain. I wouldn't place any bets on you being able to father any more kids!" And with that, Hunter threw down the mike and tackled Angle, tossing him hard out of the ring and slamming his head against the steel stairs of the ramp. Then he walked over Kurt's body for good measure.  
  
The audience screamed it's approval as Stephanie watched Hunter go back up the ramp.  
  
Well, it hadn't gone exactly as she'd hoped, but it was a start. He had been jealous...he'd never admit it of course, but he'd been dying, thinking of her and Kurt, just like she felt whenever she thought about him and Stacy. Stephanie looked over the side of the ramp where Kurt lay unconscious. She probably should go down there, but the paramedics were arriving and she didn't want to get in the way. Oh well, Kurt would wake up, his head probably killing him, but he'd survive. Stephanie shrugged it off and took her father's hand as she spoke into her microphone. "Okay, Hunter may not like it, but I am back! And let me just say one last thing: This time around, I am determined to get absolutely everything--and I do mean everything!--that I deserve. And if there's anything--or anyone who gets in my way, let me give you fair warning--you'll learn a whole new meaning of the word 'sorry'!!" And then Stephanie gracefully exited the ring, her father in tow.  
  
"You know, you might have given me some warning!" Vince told Stephanie dryly as they closed the doors in his backstage office. "What kind of prank are you playing?"  
  
"It's no prank, Dad. No, this is absolutely serious. It's the rest of my life, so you better believe this isn't some kind of a joke."  
  
"But sweetheart? You and Angle? I mean, hey, he's better than Hunter any day of the week but--"  
  
"I know you don't like Hunter, Dad, but I don't want you talking badly about him." Stephanie said as she grabbed a glass of orange juice her father had been sipping earlier that night and took a long drink.  
  
"What do you care if I--oh Stephanie. Stephanie, you can't be serious!" Vince bellowed.  
  
"Dad, be quiet! What on earth are you rambling about now?"  
  
"You're still in love with that--that--that--my God!" Vince sputtered.  
  
"Actually Dad, he's my god, but..." Stephanie joked, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"Stephanie, I know you...this whole pregnancy thing is not remotely your style. Besides that, you're hardly stupid enough to try the whole thing twice in a row! So I've come to the conclusion that you're actually pregnant--"  
  
"Gee, Dad, thanks for the faith." Stephanie muttered.  
  
"Stephanie, you tell me exactly what you are doing and I mean now!"  
  
"No, Dad! Look, you and I, we have a deal that is entirely separate from this. I'll fulfill my part of our bargain and that is all, I don't owe you any explanations about--" Stephanie gasped and grabbed her side. "Oh, God! What the--" She yelled as she slumped to the floor.  
  
"Stephanie? Stephanie? What's wrong--"  
  
And that's when Vince noted the e-mail notice flashing on his computer. Dialing for security to get the paramedics with one hand, he used the other to open the e-mail. It was that sick, twisted...shakily, Vince opened the e- mail. It flashed a bloody skull and crossbones and at the bottom it read:  
  
"Vince, Vince, Vince...didn't anyone tell you never to leave any of your drinks unattended? Time to learn that lesson the hard way, the way I learned all my lessons from you."  
  
Horrified, Vince looked back over to his daughter, crumpled on the floor. "Stephanie?" he whispered.  
  
Suddenly the door flung open, and Vince cringed. But it was only his son-in- law. "Get in here, shut the door! That son-of a bitch is here somewhere!" Vince rasped to Hunter.  
  
"Vince, we're going to have a talk and we are going to have it right--What is wrong with her!?" Hunter yelled as he saw Stephanie on the ground. He knelt down on the floor next to a dazed Stephanie, whose eyes were fluttering and breathing was shallow.  
  
Stephanie piped up to Hunter: "Wow, this hurts a lot. Like someone's stabbing me in the stomach. I've never been stabbed before, so I don't know for sure that's what it feels like but if I had to guess I think it would feel something like this and--" Stephanie broke off her ramble and giggled. Hunter looked into her eyes and could see that there was nobody home. He held her limp hand in his, massaging her wrist.  
  
"What happened to her?" he demanded again, looking at Vince.  
  
Vince opened his mouth to answer but there was a pounding at the door. "Paramedics!" The guy outside called.  
  
Vince went over and wrenched open the door. "My daughter...she's been poisoned."  
  
"With what?" one of the paramedics asked, hurrying over to Stephanie.  
  
"I don't know! Don't you think that if I knew, I'd tell you?! But it was the orange juice, had to have been." Vince replied angrily.  
  
"Someone test the orange juice." The paramedic directed curtly. "Sir, you're going to have to move aside." he told Hunter. But Stephanie tightened her grip on Hunter's hand, muttered something that she wanted him to stay with her, so instead of leaving, he just moved back, but was still rubbing his thumb over her wrist reassuringly. "Ma'am? Can you please follow this light with your eyes?" he asked, pulling out a penlight. Stephanie did so. She seemed to be snapping out of whatever state she had been in, Hunter thought. She was starting to sit up straight so he said softly, "Hey...take it easy. Let the guy do his job, okay?"  
  
"Okay." Stephanie replied weakly.  
  
"What happened, my head side hurts...my...oh my God! My baby? Is my baby okay!? What happened, somebody tell me my baby's okay. Hunter? Is the baby okay?!" Stephanie begged him.  
  
Thrown aback by Stephanie's overwhelming panic, Hunter felt a curious need to reassure her. "Shhh...everything's fine....right?" Hunter asked the EMT, who was now taking Stephanie's pulse.  
  
"Well, her color's coming back...pulse is getting back up there and your breathing is less shallow. Let's get you sitting up, hmm? I'll help you up." the EMT said.  
  
"No, that's okay, I've got it." Hunter told him as he slung his arm around Stephanie's back and pulled her weight onto him. He led her over to Vince's huge desk chair and he himself perched on the armrest. Stephanie's head half-slumped onto Hunter's shoulder and he moved his arm around her neck to make her more comfortable. Stephanie was now completely aware of her surroundings again and was studying her father quizzically.  
  
"Well, everything seems to be allright." The EMT said. "You definitely should come by the hospital though, especially since you're pregnant. Right?" Stephanie nodded. "But I don't think you need an ambulance, let's just drive you over."  
  
"Can it wait for a couple minutes?" Vince asked the EMT quietly. "It's important...I need to tell my daughter something. It won't take long, I want her to go to the hospital, obviously, and I want that juice tested. But I need to tell her something."  
  
"Well...I suppose it should be fine. We'll be right out the door, if she's having any problems, yell." And with that the EMTs exited. Vince looked over at Stephanie and Hunter in the chair. Hunter's eyes had glazed over and he was looking at Vince hostilely.  
  
"Yeah, Vince, I think you've got a lot of explaining to do. Start now." Hunter said casually, but Vince could hear the subtle threat in Hunter's tone.  
  
"You can leave. I want to talk to Stephanie now. Alone."  
  
"Um, let me think on that for a moment...no." Hunter said.  
  
"Now, listen, this doesn't concern you--"  
  
"Dad, just get on with it! He's not leaving, and I don't even want him to! So start explaining, and I mean now!" Stephanie told her father, finally starting to be able to breathe again.  
  
Vince knew it was a losing battle, so he just went over to his computer. To his surprise there was another e-mail. A new one. He opened it up--  
  
"Oh--What the hell?" Hunter breathed, peering at the computer screen. He felt Stephanie stiffen beside him. He pulled her closer, so that the right side of his body was matched against her left. Absently, he threaded his fingers through her hair.  
  
"What--but--that's me." Stephanie breathed. It was pictures of her,in New Orleans. Trying on clothes at the boutique with Claudine--two of them were actually pictures of her in mid-dress, she was only in her underwear. Her stomach turned. Who could have done this? Wordlessly, Vince scrolled down, and the pictures shifted from her in the boutique to her running wildly from her hotel--it must have been after seeing--seeing--seeing what she had seen in the hotel, she thought. And then, pictures of her sobbing on a park bench, the lights of the park giving her an ethereal glow. Stephanie looked at her father.  
  
"What is this?" she asked, trying to remain calm.  
  
"This...this is some sick freak's idea of playtime, sweetheart...I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you, I didn't want to worry you. I didn't realize he had gotten close enough to you to get those kinds of pictures. I should have told you weeks ago, I--"  
  
"Weeks ago? Weeks ago? How long have you been getting pictures of me from this creep? How long?" Stephanie screamed.  
  
"Only a little while, usually they're pictures of me, your mother, your brother and his girlfriends....the pictures of you only started a week ago."  
  
"And you didn't think to tell me? To tell me some whacked out nut job might be stalking me? Maybe just a phone call, because it's not like you've even called me in months! Something along the lines of "Hey, darling, just calling to say hi, and oh, by the way, watch out, there might be some guy watching you and can get close enough to you to take pictures of you half- naked! Maybe just a little subtle warning?"  
  
What kind of a father would do that? I can't--I can't even believe you wouldn't tell me this!  
  
Stephanie stopped for a moment, studying her father's guilty expression. "Wait a minute...there's more, isn't there?" she said slowly. "Why is this happening? Who's doing this?" Stephanie asked her father.  
  
"Steph, you have to believe me, I have no idea...all the messages say are that I'm going to pay, I'm going to be sorry, I'm going to lose everything. I don't know who this is, what this is about, I don't know anything! But you have to believe me, I have the best people working on this, we will nail this s.o.b. to the wall, I promise you. I promise you, Stephanie!"  
  
"Your promises never did mean much to me, Dad. But you know what? I don't even have the energy to deal with any of this! You put me in danger by not telling me, I could have hired somebody, some security, or something, but you didn't even let me know." Stephanie said disgustingly.  
  
Vince opened his mouth to speak but Stephanie held up a hand and rose unsteadily from the chair. Hunter immediately stood behind her in case she fell over.  
  
"I'm going to the hospital. I want to make sure that your grandchild is okay, no thanks to his grandfather! Um, Hunter? Could you maybe help me out the door? Room's kind of spinning a little."  
  
"What? Yeah....sure. Let's go." Hunter replied, still glaring at Vince. "This isn't over. After Steph gets checked out, we're going to have a conversation." he told Vince. His tone immediately softened when he started talking again to Stephanie, walking her out the door, telling her he was sure everything would be fine.  
  
Vince stared at the door, not really seeing it. It would appear he had gravely underestimated the danger here, he thought. He contemplated sending Tom with Stephanie, but he knew Hunter wouldn't leave her, so he decided against it. She'd be safe enough with Hunter, and he was one of the few people Vince had ruled out as having no connection with the stalker. But what would this maniac do next? He had to be stopped, no matter the cost. No one did this to a McMahon. No one.  
  
  
  
"Thank you for helping me out in there...but I understand if you want to go, you know--Stacy, and everything. Kurt can come with me." Stephanie said, she knew Hunter wouldn't let that happen but wanted to look good in his eyes at least in making the offer.  
  
Her gamble was right. "Yeah, well, sorry Princess, you're stuck with me. Angle's still seeing birdies, I'm afraid. And I don't want you going anywhere alone, with how did you put it--that 'whacked out nut job' on the loose? he teased.  
  
"It's not funny."  
  
He immediately sobered. "I know, believe me. I just wanted to get your mind off--well, you know."  
  
"My supposedly non-existent baby?" she queried.  
  
"Yeah...about that...I saw how concerned you were in there about your kid. I think I actually believe you're actually pregnant."  
  
"Wow, all this overwhelming faith and trust from the men that I lo---" Stephanie stopped herself from saying 'love', she knew he'd panic, and said instead "boy, it all just makes a girl feel good."  
  
The EMTs were following the two slowly, as Hunter didn't want Stephanie to be moving too fast. His chauffeur, Chad saw his employer coming and quickly opened the door. "One of you guys, come with us?" Hunter invited. "I don't want to take any chances on the way to the hospital." The man who had examined Stephanie nodded and got in with Stephanie and Hunter.  
  
"Lay down." Hunter directed Stephanie, rummaging in the back for his jacket. "Here." he said, as he placed it over her shoulders. But to his surprise, Stephanie crossed seats in the limo and came and sat next to him. She put her head on his lap and covered herself with the jacket, pulling her long legs onto the rest of the seat and curling into a ball. Hunter didn't feel like telling her to get back over to the other side of the limo, she was probably still freaked out and he couldn't blame her. So he settled into his seat and returned the gaze of the EMT who had been watching the two curiously.  
  
The EMT coughed and looked away discreetly as the limo pulled out of the lot and headed for the hospital. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

It was funny the way life worked, Hunter Hearst-Helmsley thought. Not 'ha- ha' funny, more like 'guy gets kicked in the ass perennially' funny. Only a couple of hours ago, he'd been watching Kurt Angle and Stephanie in a grotesque mockery of his own reaction months ago of finding out Stephanie was pregnant. Kurt and Stephanie had been joyful, hugging, Kurt tossing her around, just like he himself had done upon finding out the news he was going to be a father. He had been furious at them both, hated them both, so much so that he'd been certain that Stephanie had finally figured out a way to get out of his head. But now, here he was, right back where he always seemed to be: At Stephanie's side. He couldn't seem to escape from her, and it certainly didn't help matters that sometimes, in the middle of the darkness of the night, when he woke up alone, he wondered if he really wanted to escape, or if he was some kind of masochist, always coming back for more. Sometimes it seemed to Hunter he was the man dehydrating, dying in the desert, and Stephanie was the water that could save him. He hated the feeling, despised it, wished it would just go away, and every single time he thought he'd finally make her just a memory, she was back, more dangerous and potent than ever. When he'd seen her lying on the floor tonight...his heart had frozen, and in that moment, he'd known that his life would never be the same if she weren't in it. It would be like if someone had taken the sun away, how could anything live without the sun?  
  
He should just leave. He was getting way too sentimental. he should leave, leave, let her go her way, and he could go his. It was the smart thing to do, he knew, he knew it, but he also knew he'd never forgive himself if anything really bad happened to her. He was being a fool, but he couldn't stop. When it came to Stephanie all of his old self-preservation tactics just seemed to fly straight out the window. He was here, at the hospital, with her once again.  
  
And somehow, there was no place on this Earth he'd rather be.  
  
Hunter cracked open his soda with such force that the bottle top snapped off. He drank down half the can in one swallow and pushed open the door to the hospital room where the doctor had just finished examining Stephanie. He pushed open the door.  
  
"Hey! Can I have a drink?" Stephanie had immediately brightened when he had walked back into the room.  
  
Wordlessly, Hunter handed her his soda.  
  
"So, when's the doctor coming back?" he finally asked.  
  
"Pretty soon...Hunter?"  
  
"Yeah, what?"  
  
"I just--wanted to say thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For staying here with me. I know Dad wouldn't have been to happy about you missing your match on Smackdown tonight."  
  
Hunter looked at Stephanie incredulously. "His only daughter gets poisoned, finds out some freak's been stalking her, taking pictures of her half- naked, and you think your Dad's going to be upset because his ex-son-in-law takes her to the hospital and MISSES HIS FREAKING MATCH?!" he asked, the last words going up in volume.  
  
"Okay." Hunter paused for a moment. "Okay, you're right, Vince is that much of a jackass, he would be upset. But more importantly, do you honestly think that I give a damn about what your father thinks of me? Have I ever?"  
  
"No." Stephanie laughed.  
  
"Well, allright then. You know, I meant that you could have a drink, not half of the whole can." he scolded, holding out his hand for the remnants of his soda."  
  
"Ooh...you're frowning at me. I'm really scared now." Stephanie teased, her eyes dancing.  
  
Hunter opened his mouth to retort, but the doctor came in.  
  
"Well?" Both Stephanie and Hunter asked simultaneously. Stephanie's hand reached over to Hunter's hand and he wrapped his fingers inbetween hers.  
  
"Well, the results from the orange juice are back, and we did indeed find something. There was wild senna in your drink."  
  
"Senna?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Yes, it's a herb. Mostly used to aid digestion. We're fortunate that it was only wild senna and not Alexandrian senna. It would have been quite dangerous for you, especially with the fact that you're pregnant. Luckily, you only had a drink of the juice, it would have been an entirely different matter if you'd drank the whole thing. But, everything is fine now, everything in your tests check out, so you are free to leave, Mrs. McMahon. I would simply advise you to rest, and take it easy for the next couple of days." With that, the doctor departed.  
  
"You okay?" Hunter asked.  
  
"Yeah, just-just give me a second to get changed?"  
  
"Allright, I'll be right outside the door." Hunter exited.  
  
Someone had actually put something in her drink, Stephanie shuddered. She realized she hadn't truly believed, had even thought it was just a really bad bout of morning sickness, but now they knew otherwise. Shakily, Stephanie pulled her clothes back on and left the hospital gown crumpled on the bed. She paused in front of the mirror. She looked like a ghost. Quickly she reapplied a coat of lipstick and a little blush. She didn't have a hair brush, so she just pulled her hair back in a quick braid. She opened the door and left the hospital with Hunter. They rode down the elevator in silence, both lost in their own troubled thoughts. Chad opened the limo's door and Stephanie murmured a thank you, while Hunter just flopped down in his seat across from her.  
  
"You want to talk about it?" he asked, looking at her steadily.  
  
"Not especially." Stephanie replied, as she picked non-existent lint from her pants. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were shaking.  
  
"You're staying with Vince and Linda?"  
  
She nodded, and he directed Chad to the house.  
  
They were silent for about ten minutes. And then they both spoke.  
  
"Hu-" "Steph-"  
  
"Go ahead-" "You can-"  
  
"Steph, go ahead. You first."  
  
Stephanie inhaled. "I know the drink was meant for my father--"  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"It was in his office!"  
  
"Yeah, but everyone knows you always drink everyone else's drinks."  
  
"I do not." "Do I?"  
  
"Yeah, I don't think you even realize it, Steph. I don't think, in all the time we've been together, that I've ever finished a drink completely on my own."  
  
"I'm sorry--you're right, I never even realized."  
  
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not knocking you, it's kind of a cute quirk of yours, at least I've always thought so."  
  
She smiled at him. Oh, God, not the smile, he thought. He turned his head to the side, pretending to look out the window, but he wasn't really seeing anything. "Yeah, well, anyways, everyone's noticed. Everyone but you, I guess. So it's really possible this guy was going after the two of you both. Or maybe just you. Or maybe just Vince. How can we really know?" Hunter asked, his eyes returning over to her.  
  
"Good point." She said aloud. Scary point.  
  
"So the morale of the story is to be careful from now on, okay?"  
  
"Yeah." They were quiet for another minute.  
  
"Hunter?"  
  
"Yeah, what?"  
  
"What were you going to say?"  
  
"Nothing important."  
  
"Why don't you let me judge that? Just say whatever it was."  
  
He looked her dead in the face now. "I was going to ask you why you're still wearing your wedding ring."  
  
Stephanie looked down at her hand. "I hadn't even realized." she murmured.  
  
"Well, don't you think it's time to take it off? We signed the divorce, Steph."  
  
Stephanie continued to look at her hand, but looked back up at him sharply. God, sometimes he was such an insensitive bastard. And other times he was the most giving, unselfish person she'd ever met. It was like he was two different people, and she didn't know which one he was going to be on any given day. And the great irony was that somehow, she loved them both!  
  
"Well, I see you haven't wasted any time getting rid of yours! So, Hunter, did you pawn it? Throw it in the garbage? Have it melted into scrap metal?" she asked him savagely.  
  
"No." Hunter answered simply. If she only knew what he'd really done with his ring. But he wouldn't ever tell her...she would get the wrong impression, he knew.  
  
He tried a different tack: "So don't you think it would be better if it was off?"  
  
No, it would not be better, you idiot! She thought. But she had to say something. "It's stuck." Oh, that's really good, Steph, way to dig yourself a hole on that one! her mind screamed. She elaborated further upon seeing Hunter's disbelieving, disgusted look. "My finger must be swelling, you know, because of the pregnancy."  
  
"Yeah, right." Hunter muttered.  
  
"I'm not lying! See?" Stephanie said indignantly, as she pretended to try and pull of the band. She was shocked when Hunter came across the limo to her.  
  
"Give me your hand." he demanded. "Stuck, my ass."  
  
She had no choice but to give him her hand. He pulled on the ring, gently at first, but harder when it didn't come off.  
  
Stephanie looked at the ring in disbelief. It really was stuck. Go figure. "See? I told you!" She said triumphantly.  
  
Finally giving up, Hunter moved away a few inches. "Sorry...you have to admit it was convenient."  
  
"Whatever." Stephanie said. This conversation was getting her depressed, he really seemed to want to be rid of her. The limo finally pulled up to her parents' home.  
  
She was surprised when he got out first and held out his arm to her. They walked up the path to the door and he said: "I'll walk you over to the door. Then I'm leaving."  
  
Stephanie stopped dead, smacking into him."You're leaving?" Stephanie echoed squeakily.  
  
Seeing the terrified expression on her face, his resolve crumpled. "Well, I was planning to but--"  
  
"No! It's fine." She pulled her arm out of his. "It's just fine. You've done more than enough. Thank you for everything." She started walking away.  
  
He followed. "You want to stop thanking me, damn it!?"  
  
"Why? Does my thanking you bother you?"  
  
"Yes---No---Yes!"  
  
"Why?" she asked, genuinely wanting to know.  
  
"Because, just because we're divorced doesn't mean we can't still help each other out, you know? It doesn't have to be all or nothing!"  
  
But I want it all! I want it all from you! If I can't have it all, it would hurt too much to have to just settle for anything from you! Her heart screamed. But aloud she simply asked: "It doesn't?"  
  
"No! I mean, it's not like we're enemies, or we hate each others' guts, right?"  
  
"We don't?" He doesn't hate me! Her heart soared.  
  
"No, we can still watch each other's backs. We were married, I still feel like--"  
  
Her heart plummeted again. "Obligated. You feel obligated." Stephanie said slowly.  
  
"I guess that would be one word for it." More like protective, he thought.  
  
"Oh, well, don't worry about it, Hunter. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. I have been through a lot, and I'm a survivor. You should know that by now."  
  
He did know that. Hunter knew that if there were ever an apocalypse there would be two things that survived the thing: the cockroaches, and Stephanie McMahon. But he still wanted to make sure she was out of danger, then he could work on getting himself away from her.  
  
"Why is it so dark in there?" Stephanie asked suddenly, changing the entire conversation.  
  
"I don't know. It looks like it's completely dark." Hunter frowned. "There's no light anywhere. That's weird. Your mother always leaves the porch light on when she knows you're coming, and that light outside the garage is always on." he knew.  
  
"Yeah...mom likes to pretend someone's always here, prevent burglars. She's cute like that. I wonder--you--Hunter?"  
  
"Steph, go back to the limo, now." he told her as he picked up a heavy branch lying on the ground.  
  
"No! You don't think that--that--my Mother's home!" She said urgently.  
  
"I know! I'm going in there, to check it out! It's probably nothing. We're just being paranoid because of what happened today, but I'm going to check it out. Go back to the car, now!"  
  
"The hell I am! It's my mother! And I'm not letting anything happen to you!" With that, Stephanie picked up her own branch defiantly.  
  
"Oh for God's sakes--We don't have time for this!"  
  
"Then get in there already!" She wasn't budging. He looked down at her angrily, but saw she wasn't going to do as he asked. So he pushed her behind him and opened the door slowly, silently. Stephanie followed, gripping her branch tightly. Hunter flicked the light switch.  
  
"The power's completely cut. Everyone else on the block has power but this house. And my dad usually has security crawling all over the place and I haven't seen a single guard! The security alarm should have been tripped! I have such a bad feeling about this." She whispered.  
  
Hunter didn't respond, but the truth was, so did he. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

"Well, where are the flashlights kept?" Hunter asked softly, as he and Stephanie made their way through the living room.  
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah....kitchen." Stephanie replied, equally as soft, pulling Hunter in the direction of the kitchen.  
  
"Steph?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You want to maybe let go of my arm? Your nails are digging in."  
  
"Well gee, I'm just sooo sorry...I mean, hey, I've only been photographed and poisoned and now the guy might be in my parents' house with my mother! So maybe I'm a little freaked out! But God forbid I actually scratch your arm!" Stephanie whispered loudly.  
  
"Hey! You're the one who insisted on coming in with me! I told you to wait in the car, but nooo, you have to come in yourself."  
  
"I wanted to be sure you don't get hurt!"  
  
"So this is for my protection? Steph, really! What the heck are you going to be able to do that I can't? Flash him?"  
  
"In case you've forgotten, flashing probably wouldn't work because he's probably seen it all!" Stephanie hissed.  
  
"Just shut up, okay? Can you just shut up?"  
  
"We're almost at the kitchen. Right through the door."  
  
Stephanie said.  
  
"I remember where the freaking kitchen is, Steph! I have been here before!"  
  
"Don't get all upset with me. I'm just trying to help, Hunter."  
  
"I know. But it really would've helped more if you'd just gone back to the limo and stayed with Chad."  
  
"No, it wouldn't have helped! I would have just been worried about you and Mom and then I would have just started panicking. And then I would have come in here all alone! At least this way, whatever goes down, I'm right here. Do you understand that?"  
  
"Find the flashlight, Steph." Hunter told her as they finally reached the kitchen.  
  
"Um, it should be right here in this drawer...but it's gone!"  
  
"What do you mean it's gone?"  
  
"Well, I mean that it's not here, missing in action, gone!"  
  
"In about three seconds, I'm going to start choking you!" Hunter said exasperated at her sarcasm. "What about candles?"  
  
"What the hell do you think I'm looking for? Yes! Got one! Now matches, come on baby!" The match lit and then finally, there was the ever- reassuring presence of light.  
  
"Be careful you don't blow out the candle, you're breathing really hard."  
  
"Shut up, Hunter."  
  
"Stop bickering with me! Let's go find your mom and make sure she's okay!"  
  
"You're right...let's try her bedroom first."  
  
They started quietly out of the kitchen when Hunter stopped and put his finger to his lip. He pointed at the door. Stephanie got behind the counter with the candle as she gripped her branch and Hunter went behind the door, raising his tree branch.  
  
The door swung open.  
  
"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!" Both Stephanie and the woman coming in screamed shrilly. Hunter had come out from behind the door and had the woman in a chokehold with the thick branch.  
  
"Linda?" Hunter asked, stunned, as he released his deathly grip. Stephanie dropped her branch and rose up to hug her mother, who dropped the baseball bat she had been holding with a loud thunk.  
  
"Stephanie? Hunter? Oh, thank goodness it's you!" Linda said.  
  
"Sorry, Linda..."  
  
"Oh, Hunter, don't apologize. I heard noises coming from downstairs and I came down to check it out. I'm so relieved it's the two of you...I thought...well, it doesn't matter what I thought! Come, sit down, both of you!" Linda invited, turning on her flashlight and she escorted the them to the living room sofa.  
  
"Why are all of the lights out?" Hunter asked.  
  
"Yes, Mother! We were worried sick! Are you really okay?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. It's the strangest thing really. I was catching up on some e-mail when all of a sudden the lights completely went out. Your father's still not home, and I had sent all of the security guards home a couple of hours ago--"  
  
"You did? Why on earth would you do that?" Hunter asked.  
  
"Well, with the new security alarm your father had installed last week I really felt it was unnecessary to have all of those guards. They made me nervous. Your father told me he has finally told you about the...situation?" Linda asked Stephanie.  
  
"Situation? That's what you're calling this?! Mother, some guy is stalking our entire family, and you get rid of security because they make you nervous?! They're here to protect you, make certain you're safe! You don't just send them home on a whim!" Stephanie yelled furiously.  
  
"Oh, don't you dare take that tone with me, Stephanie! You know what it's like to constantly have people watching your every move! You hate it too, that's why you've insisted on having no guards for yourself in the past!"  
  
"Well, that's all changed now Mother! I'm not taking any risks! If it were just me, maybe it'd be different, but now I'm having a baby, and I have to think about him too, keeping him safe! So I'm going to get bodyguards first thing tomorrow." Stephanie felt, rather than saw, Hunter's surprised expression.  
  
"Stephanie, darling...I heard about the poison. It was absolutely horrifying! I called the hospital earlier, they said you had already left. I tried both your cell phones, but neither of you had yours turned on." Linda said, a touch reproachfully.  
  
"Mother, we were a little preoccupied."  
  
"Still...I was worried! But you're fine, I'm so glad. I would have come to visit you, but the doctor told me you were being released, and since you're staying here, I knew I'd get to see you tonight."  
  
"That's all well and good!" Hunter interrupted. "But let's get back to the subject at hand here! How did the electricity get shut off in the first place? You said it was strange. Strange how?"  
  
"Well, like I said. Everything was fine one minute, the next it was pitch black. I called the electrician, he'll be here first thing in the morning. And I called security back, they came and checked the grounds."  
  
"And? Did they find anything? Tampering with any wires or something?" Hunter asked.  
  
"No...that's the strange part. They looked at the fuses, everything seems to be fine. So the went outside, and looked around, and they couldn't find anything wrong there either. But like I said, they found no tampering or anything like that, so I don't think it was anything beyond a minor coincidence. Does that reassure you both?"  
  
"But the security checked everything? You're certain, the entire house?" Hunter pressed.  
  
"Yes, they were quite thorough. They offered to stay here with me, or drive me to a friend's home, but I thought it was ridiculous. I'm not going to allow someone to run my entire life. This is my home, and I feel perfectly safe in it."  
  
Stephanie looked at Hunter, clearly wanting him to say something to her mother, about how stupid and irresponsible she was being, but Hunter couldn't think of a thing to say. Linda was in denial. She was clearly afraid for her family, but she refused to recognize it so her behavior was bound to be erratic. She wasn't going to budge on this one, no matter how ridiculous she was being. And he knew it. There was only one thing to try, he thought. Hunter stood suddenly.  
  
"Well, that's that then!" he said brightly, as he leaned in to kiss Linda's cheek. "I'm so relieved nothing happened, that Steph and I were just being overly cautious. I think I'm just going to head back to the hotel now, get some sleep, like the two of you should definitely do." He saw Stephanie's eyes widen out of the corner of his eye, but it was Linda's reaction he was waiting for.  
  
"Oh, Hunter...it's getting late. And you're right, we should all get some sleep. You're perfectly welcome to stay with us here tonight." Linda was stammering.  
  
"You're sure?" Hunter asked as he winked at Stephanie.  
  
"Oh, of course, I'm sure! You're always welcome here, you know that. At least, I hope you do. Since I'm guessing you won't be staying in Stephanie's bedroom this time--Stephanie coughed, choking at this--You're perfectly welcome to make use of the guest bedroom. It's two doors away from mine, and three away from hers."  
  
Hunter pretended to mull it over for a minute. "Thanks, Linda, you're the best. You're right, I'm really beat. I think I'll just sit down here for a while, relax a bit, then I'll head on up. Sound good?"  
  
"Sounds great. Good night, both of you."  
  
"Good night, Mom." They both said, as Linda went up the stairs.  
  
"Very smooth, Mr. Helmsley. An excellent performance. Heaven forbid you take that long, long limo ride back into the city." Stephanie cooed.  
  
"Thank you, my dear. I do try." Hunter smiled. "You going to bed, then?"  
  
"Yeah...actually, I'm just going to take a quick shower first. I'll use the one downstairs. So, um...good night...."  
  
"And?" Hunter prompted.  
  
"And what?"  
  
"It just sounded like you were going to say something else."  
  
"Nope. Just good night. Oh, and I'm taking the candle." Stephanie said, disappearing around the corner. Hunter heard the shower turn on, and he settled into the couch, enjoying the total darkness. He called Chad quickly on his cell phone, told him to go home and return back tomorrow. Talk about the day from hell, he thought tiredly. He must have dozed off for a moment because the next thing he knew, there was a drop of water dripping on his face and Stephanie was standing over him, dressed in a robe, with a towel around her shoulders.  
  
"Sorry to wake you, but I know how much you hate it when you fall asleep on the couch. Your back always hurts in the morning. Want to come up to bed with me?" Realizing how that sounded, she actually blushed.  
  
Hunter laughed. "Talk about your invitations. I'm glad you woke me, let's go up." He headed for the stairs with her, got up halfway and realized she was still at the bottom, looking at the staircase, horrified.  
  
"Steph? Steph, what's wrong?"  
  
"I don't want to say." Stephanie said.  
  
"What? What don't you want to say?"  
  
"You'll just think I'm being really stupid. Just go to bed. I'll get up there when I get up there."  
  
"You don't actually believe I'm going to leave it at that, now do you?" Hunter asked, coming back down. "So?" he prompted her.  
  
"Can't you just leave it alone?" Stephanie asked desperately.  
  
"What are you even talking about?" Hunter asked, his frustration growing by the second. He would have left, but she looked like she was actually going to cry.  
  
"You need to get upstairs, get some rest, like the doctor said."  
  
"I will!"  
  
"Then why don't you already?!"  
  
"You're not the boss of me!"  
  
"I'm not the boss--Steph, we are not in the fifth grade here! Get going!"  
  
"I'm working on it. I just--"  
  
"You what?!"  
  
"The stairs are freaking me out, okay? Are you happy now? I try and get my foot even on the bottom stair, and it feels like my legs are going to give out!"  
  
"Is it the senna? Do you want me to call the doctor, because if you're feeling that weak--"  
  
"It's not the poison! I feel okay, it's just, you know, pregnant woman, big staircase, I don't know--I just feel really, really weird about it!"  
  
"You're kidding, right?"  
  
"See? I told you you'd think it was stupid, and I was right! I told you to go to bed, but you just have to stay here and embarrass me."  
  
"That's not what I'm doing! Look, I can see that you actually are freaked out about this. So why don't you just tell me why?"  
  
"I--I don't even know! I can't explain it. My legs just don't feel like they'll hold me up. I think I'll just sleep on the couch tonight." Stephanie turned away quickly, but gave a little scream when she felt herself being lifted off the floor and Hunter started carrying her up the stairs.  
  
"Put me down! The couch would have been fine, damn it!"  
  
"You get really cranky and bitchy whenever you don't get your sleep, so why don't you just let me bring you up there, okay? You've had a rough day, it's understandable that it's starting to all catch up with you."  
  
"You're not making fun of me?" Stephanie asked, her breath so close it tickled his goatee.  
  
"I'm not making fun of you. Really." he reassured her.  
  
"Well, okay then."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"That's what I said."  
  
"Yeah." Hunter opened the door to her bedroom and sat down with her on the bed. "You want me to check your room out?" he asked.  
  
"No...well, you know, if you felt like it..."  
  
He checked, making a big show of looking under the bed with the candle, peering in the closet, making horrifying faces to scare anything away. Stephanie was laughing on the bed silently.  
  
"You are such a dork." She said in between giggles.  
  
"Yeah, but at least you know your room's fine."  
  
"You know, that invitation earlier...it truly was genuine." Stephanie said suggestively.  
  
Hunter looked over at Stephanie, floored. God, she could change moods at the drop of a hat. One minute ago, she was scared just to climb a flight of stairs, the next she's trying to entice him over to the bed. He simply shook his head, and left, closing the door firmly and saying over his shoulder, "Good Night, Stephanie."  
  
Stephanie wasn't surprised, but she had to admit she was disappointed. She lay back into the pillow, glad that her legs had stopped shaking. She quickly changed into a nightgown her mother must have left out for her and climbed back into the bed, burrowing under the covers. She had finally started to drift off a bit when there was a soft knock at the door.  
  
Stephanie sat bolt upright. "Come-come in." She said quietly. Maybe Hunter had decided to take her up on her invitation after all? Hey, a girl could only hope, couldn't she? 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Stephanie smoothed back her hair quickly and stared ahead anxiously, but doing her best to look completely unruffled as the bedroom door slipped open.  
  
"Oh. It's you." She said, as her face fell. Her mother's face was lit by the flashlight she was holding in her hand.  
  
"Expecting--or should I say hoping--I was someone else?" Her mother queried.  
  
"No! Of course not! I'm happy to see you, of course, Mother. It's just...it's been a really rough couple of days, you know?"  
  
"Sweetie, I know....May I sit?"  
  
Stephanie pulled her legs up into a pretzel as her mother sat on the bed.  
  
"I didn't get a chance to welcome you home, Stephanie. I missed you."  
  
"You did?"  
  
"Of course! Mother/Daughter relationships are complicated. You're going to find that out very soon, from an entirely different perspective, aren't you?" Linda asked as she leaned over and touched her daughter's stomach lightly.  
  
"Yeah...I can't wait." Stephanie sighed happily.  
  
Linda waited for a moment and then rocked her daughters' world: "So when are you going to tell Hunter he's going to be a father?"  
  
"Son of a--What?" Stephanie blinked, dumbfounded.  
  
"Oh, Stephanie! Do you think I'm blind? I see the way you look at him! I've seen the way you look at Kurt! It's two completely different things! I can see you're not understanding what I'm saying, darling, so let me break it down for you: when you look at Hunter, I see a woman looking at the man who is the love of her life. When I see you look at Kurt...well, it's like you're looking at nothing. There's nothing there. And if for one minute you try and convince me that you actually slept with that idiot, I swear, I am going to march straight out of this room and into Hunter's, consequences be damned!"  
  
"No! No, Mother, you can't do that! It would ruin absolutely everything! Why are you always trying to destroy my life? Does it give you some kind of perverse pleasure? Is it that you're not happy, so your daughter can't be either? Do you truly hate me that much?" Stephanie ranted, tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
"Hate you? My God, Stephanie, I love you! You're my daughter, I want you to be happy more than anything in the world! It's just that--"  
  
"Just that what, Mother?"  
  
"It's the way you go about it! You're your own worst enemy! I just want to help you, and right now, the best thing in the world for you to do is to come clean with Hunter It could make all the difference!"  
  
"You're right! It probably would make all the difference. And that's exactly why I can't tell him. I don't want him back because of the baby, I want him back because he's finally figured out that it hurts even to breathe without me! So I can't do that, I can't tell him, Mother! He's my husband and--"  
  
"Ex-Husband! He's your ex--darling, I'm sorry but you have to get used to the idea of that!"  
  
"The hell I do! He's not my ex-anything, Mother! He's my husband."  
  
"Stephanie--"  
  
"Mother, don't ask me any questions, just accept it. I am still Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, okay?"  
  
Linda looked at Stephanie shocked speechless, for once.  
  
"Okay..." Linda said slowly. "I'm not going to ask exactly how you maneuvered that one, but do you see now what I'm telling you? You're your own worst enemy! Stephanie, when Hunter finds out..."  
  
"When my husband finds out, he's going to be happy about it."  
  
"Stephanie--"  
  
"I know, you think I'm losing it or something, don't you? Well, I'm not! I'm just...desperate, Mother. Desperate people do things they wouldn't normally do, don't they? I actually have thought through this, and I believe that if I do everything right, I can get him back, Mother! Don't you want that for me? For me to be with the man that I love?"  
  
"Of course I want you with Hunter--"  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"He's the one person on the planet I actually think is good enough for you." Linda admitted to her daughter.  
  
"Then you see? You see that maybe, for once, I actually know what I'm doing? Mother, I promise, I will tell him. It just has to be at the right time. And I'll tell him we're still married as soon as the time is right with that too! I'm not deluding myself, I know he'll be angry about my manipulating that, but he'll forgive me. He'll see how much I'm in love with him, and that I did it for us--for the three of us--and he'll be angry, but he'll get over it. Please, just please, Mother, don't tell him. Do you promise?" Stephanie begged.  
  
"It's your life...and if you truly believe this is the best way to deal with this--"  
  
"It is--"  
  
"Then, I won't tell him. But I have one more thing to say, and I want you to really listen to this: If there is one thing your husband hates, it is liars. And right now, you are telling him the biggest whooper of them all, and you are going to need to be careful. Because let me tell you something else. There are a lot of women out there who would love to get their hands on him, and if I were twenty years younger, and you weren't my daughter, I'd be one of them too!"  
  
"Mother!" Stephanie gasped, laughing.  
  
"Well, I'm just telling you like it is, Stephanie. You do whatever you think you have to, but in the end, it's going to be the truth that will help you get him back."  
  
"You actually hit the nail on the head with one part of your lecture, Mother. The vultures are circling, and the biggest, bitchiest one of all is Stacy Keibler. She and Hunter--they--"  
  
Stephanie didn't have to finish, Linda could read it on her face. "Oh, I would never have thought that Hunter--are you certain?"  
  
"Mother, believe me, I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd seen it with my own eyes. Unfortunately, I did."  
  
"I--Stephanie, I don't want you to read too much into this but--maybe things aren't exactly as they seem."  
  
"Meaning what?" Stephanie asked, confused.  
  
"Meaning that Hunter's a lot of things, he's devious, he's manipulative-- actually, I think that's why the two of you suit each other so well--but in all the time he's been with you, I've never seen him even look at another woman. And he works with some--some very nice looking women, you know?"  
  
"I know...believe me, I know." Stephanie bit out. "And it actually did occur to me that maybe it was just a one-time deal, or there was something I was missing, but I just don't know anymore! Sometimes, I can't even tell what way is up with him anymore. But you know what? I've decided it doesn't really matter. I mean it hurts, really badly, to be truthful, whenever I think of Hunter and, and--but I've decided I don't care. When it's all said and done, he's my husband, I'm having his child, and she'll be nothing but a bad memory--for both of us. And it's not like I haven't made mistakes in this marriage. We're both to blame for things getting so bad, but I'm doing my part to get it all back together again. Now, if only he'd do his, you know?"  
  
"I know..."  
  
"So I'm going to stick with my plan. Part of it's really simple--I'm going to seduce my own husband. And we'll be together, the three of us, and we'll be a family, no matter how long it takes me or if I have to practically kill myself doing it."  
  
"I love you, Stephanie." Linda said simply.  
  
"I love you too, Mother." Stephanie said, reaching out to hug her. They were silent for a while, and Linda noted that Stephanie was starting to fall asleep so she whispered:  
  
"Well, I just wanted to come in and talk with you...I'm so glad I did. Oh! And I wanted to thank you for the roses you sent me! They're lovely! And the card you sent with them, so sweet, darling. You couldn't see them of course, with the electricity out but I have them on the coffee table in the living room. And I even found a vase that was almost as beautiful as they are, even though I did prick my finger on one of the stems. It still hurts, actually. Well...good night, sweetheart."  
  
"Mmm-hmm." Stephanie responded, already drifting off to sleep. Linda leaned in to kiss her daughter's forehead and quietly left the room. She went down the hallway to the bathroom and walked past Hunter's room. She peeked in but to her surprise she saw him looking back at her.  
  
"Oh, Hunter! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you! I'll just head back--"  
  
"Linda, wait, I was already awake. I can't get to sleep. Not that I'd want to." He muttered.  
  
"Does all of this stalker nonsense have you unable to sleep?" Linda asked as she walked over to the side of the bed.  
  
"No, not that...have a seat, if you want." Hunter said, gesturing to the foot of the bed.  
  
"Thank you, dear. So why don't you want to sleep?"  
  
"Eh, that's not..."  
  
"Hunter, you obviously want to talk about it, otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned it. So out with it."  
  
"Yes, Mom!" he teased. "But seriously...I, uh--I have dreams." he said flatly.  
  
"Dreams?" Linda frowned.  
  
"Well, not exactly dreams. More like nightmares. They're vivid. Like I'm actually there. Inside the dream."  
  
"I see." Linda said.  
  
"No, you don't. I know...it sounds nuts. But they're starting to really piss me off, you know?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I really can't get any sleep. I've been running on fumes, for at least three weeks now."  
  
"It's been almost a month since these dreams began?"  
  
"Yeah...and they're really weird too."  
  
"Weird how?"  
  
"It's...it's almost like they're telling a story. A story that only I can see for some reason. But the thing is, I can't ever remember what they're about! The exact details, I mean. I wake up, ready to go kill something, like there's something seriously wrong or someone that I care about is going to be hurt, and I'm ready to go defend Stephanie, but I don't know how! And I don't know why, or from whom I'm supposed to protect them, and it's frustrating the hell out of me. I don't have dreams. For God's sakes, most people go out of their way NOT to tick me off. And somehow, I can't stop having the dreams. You can stop looking at me like that." He said irritably.  
  
"If I'm looking at you any way you don't like, I'm sorry. But there was one part of your description that kind of stood out. Do you realize that you were talking about Stephanie?"  
  
"No, I wasn't!"  
  
"Yes, I distinctly heard you say Stephanie."  
  
"Then Linda, I'm sorry, but you need to have your hearing checked. I know, I was a great son-in-law"--he laughed at this--"but you've got to get over it. Steph and I--we're divorced. Signed the papers yesterday. It's done, finito, finished."  
  
Linda looked at the man who was still her son-in-law, and tried to adopt an innocent aura.  
  
"Is Steph okay?" he asked finally.  
  
"Yes, she's fine."  
  
"I knew you'd check up on her." he said.  
  
"But now that I'm here, let's talk about you."  
  
"What about me?"  
  
"Well, those dreams for starters. I know you don't want to hear this, but I believe they're about my daughter."  
  
"I already know that." Hunter growled.  
  
"Yes, I know that! But I don't think they're about her in the way you think they are."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I just mean, that with the a---divorce--and everything along with it, you're just starting a whole new chapter in your life, so it's probably only natural that you'd have a bout of insomnia."  
  
"I guess..."  
  
"I'm sure that they're nothing, really. So try not to worry about them so much! It's so unlike you."  
  
"Boy, do I know that."  
  
"And, Hunter there's something else I need to tell you."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for showing you that tape of Stephanie and that actor who was portraying her doctor. It wasn't my place to interfere like that, and I'm so very sorry I did so."  
  
"Linda! Hey, this isn't even remotely your fault. All you did was tell the truth. Do you have any idea how grateful I am to you for that? I was being played for a fool, and you were the only one with enough courage and decency to tell me. I will be grateful forever. Really." He told her firmly.  
  
"I agonized for so long over that decision."  
  
"Well, stop. I appreciated it. It helped...clarify a lot of things for me."  
  
"I'm happy you're not angry with me. And please forgive me for saying this but--well, I'm surprised you haven't struck out at Stephanie any more than you have. Forgiveness isn't exactly--"  
  
"One of my better attributes?" Hunter finished wryly. "No, you're right about that, Linda. But I thought getting her kicked out of the Federation was punishment enough."  
  
"But now she's managed to get back in. So this is where the question comes in: Are you going to be playing any games with her Hunter? Because I'm telling you right now, she's not in any condition to fight you off. She's never going to be more vulnerable--especially to you--than she is right now. So if you're planning something against her, I have to ask you to just stop it. Right now. For all our sakes."  
  
Hunter looked at her incredulously. "Linda...you have such a low opinion of me! I'm not planning anything against your little Princess, okay? I'm not going after her...so long as she stays out of my way, I will stay out of hers. We'll figure out a way to coexist in the same universe. And now, with this whole maniac screwing with her and her family? Do you really think I'm that low? Oh, I'll admit, anyone else who did something like what Steph did to me, I'd knock them down so hard they'd never be able to get back up. But this is Stephanie we're talking about...and she's different. Somehow, she's just...different. We hurt each other. It's done. We're done." he insisted.  
  
"That's really all I needed to hear, Hunter. I'm relieved."  
  
"Yeah." he muttered, still insulted. "In Stephanie, I've created a monster. That's my fault, I accept full responsibility for that. Before me...she was a completely different person. She never would have lied like this or--"  
  
"Who on earth do you think you are kidding? If that's what you've thought all this time, let me just tell you how wrong you are!"  
  
"You can't deny Stephanie was completely different before she knew me! Do you have any idea how guilty I feel about that?"  
  
"You're damn right, she was different, Hunter! But not in the way you're thinking! She was so much worse before she met you!"  
  
"What?" Hunter asked, stunned.  
  
"Is that seriously what you've thought, all this time? Well, I hate to break it to you, but Stephanie was always manipulative. She just hid it, buried it below a sweet facade. After she married you, she didn't do that anymore, and let me tell you, that was a relief! Finally, I started to know where I stood with her! And, when she was with you she finally started to understand that--Linda broke off, uncertain if she was going to betray her daughter with the sentence she'd been thinking of-- then continued: "You made her better, not worse, Hunter, and I think in some ways, she did the same for you."  
  
She saw how shocked Hunter was at the revelation that Stephanie hadn't been sweetness and light before he had torn his way into her life, and wisely decided to give him time to process that.  
  
"Hunter?"  
  
"What now, Linda?"  
  
"Are you in love with my daughter still?"  
  
Hunter looked at Linda, aghast at her lack of tact. "We're divorced."  
  
"That doesn't answer my question."  
  
"Actually, it does. We're divorced. Don't you see? She lied to me about the most sacred thing there is, and she did it for her own personal gain. Even if I did still love her, how am I ever supposed to trust her again? How could I tell if she's ever being completely truthful with me? Time was, I could smell a liar. I could see it in their faces, read it in their bodies. Even Stephanie. But somewhere down the line, it got to the point where I couldn't even tell with her anymore. And I can't live like that, Linda. How am I supposed to share my life, my bed, me, with a woman who could say to me that the sky was green and a part of me would actually believe her?"  
  
"So, in your mind...there's absolutely no chance of a reconciliation?" Linda asked sadly.  
  
"None whatsoever. Linda, you have to understand. Stephanie and I...we are forces of nature. We destroy everything in our paths, everything in our way until we get what we want. And if we went for it again, we'd destroy each other. It would be inevitable. It probably wouldn't even be because we wanted to, but we would. And then we'd end up hating each other with every bit of passion that we once felt that was love. Do you understand what I'm saying, Linda?"  
  
"Yes...yes, Hunter I do." She said softly. She rose from the bed suddenly and started for the door but at the last minute she turned around:  
  
"But what if you're wrong, Hunter? What if the two of you have learned from the last time around, learned enough to get it right? Don't you owe it to yourselves to at least find out, for all of your sakes? It's not often that a person finds their soulmate, Hunter. And believe me, that's a truth I know all too well. And for you to actually find that other person in the world that makes them whole, and then to be afraid enough to throw it away, all because of what might happen...Hunter, it's madness. But I love you anyway, and I will always consider you to be my son. Good night, darling." Linda shut the door behind her, leaving Hunter deep in thought.  
  
Those two, Linda though ruefully. Two of the most intelligent people in the world, and they were both being so stupid. Linda blinked as the room seemed to spin for a moment. She patted the flashlight reassuringly. Must be all the darkness, making her dizzy, she thought. She felt for the support of the wall as purple dots continued to dance in front of her eyelids. Just have to make it to the bed, she knew. She was suddenly so very tired...and her finger was just throbbing.  
  
Meanwhile, Stephanie suddenly jerked awake, her Mother's last words to her finally penetrating her consciousness fully. "Roses?" She said aloud. "But Mother, I didn't send you any roses...God knows, I'd be the last person to send roses to anyone." 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Stephanie padded down the hallway, opening the door to her parent's bedroom without knocking. "Mother, I didn't send you-" she began frantically, but there was no one in the room. "Mother?" she whispered loudly, not wanting to awaken Hunter if possible. "Mother?" she asked again as she called down the staircase. She didn't want to go down, and decided to check the bathroom. The door was shut. "Mom-are you in there--?" Stephanie asked, opening the door even as she said so. The window was wide open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. Stephanie swallowed hard. No one ever opened the window this far. She cautiously stuck her head out, peering outside. To her relief, she saw no one, but then wondered why she had even expected to see anyone. This whole stalker thing had her seeing danger everywhere. She shut the window, making sure to lock it.  
  
Stephanie had failed, however to look up. If she had, she would have seen a man hanging precariously on the roof over the bathroom, only three feet from her head. It would have been so easy, he mused..all he would have had to do was reach down and grab her head and.that would have been the end. But that would have been too easy for that bitch. Out of everyone in that entire family, it was Stephanie and Vince who had cost him the most. Oh, sure he hated Shane too, for the role he had played, but it was that traitorous, double-crossing witch Stephanie who had caused him the most. And for that, she would pay. He hadn't decided if her life would be his price, but he figured he'd just see how things played out. First he'd destroy her, by destroying her soul, her heart. Then maybe her body. He hadn't quite decided yet, but he had one thing Stephanie McMahon-Helmsely didn't have: Time. It was a pity about Linda, though.but she was the one person who he could use against both Vince and Stephanie, and therefore, in the end, she was expendable.  
  
It had been a close call at the house though.when that s.o.b. Hunter had come in, he'd known it was time to leave. If it had been just Linda and Stephanie, fun could have been had, but at this point he wasn't willing to risk being discovered this early in the game. Besides, he'd accomplished what he'd set out to accomplish here, even if those fools wouldn't realize it for a few days. And then they'd finally see exactly how serious he was. Stephanie drinking the senna, that had just been a happy coincidence, he wouldn't have cared if either she or Vince had drunk it. And the fact that Stephanie was pregnant.well it was all just coming together for him now wasn't it? She had so much to lose, and she would lose it all, just as she had made him lose everything. The man swung his long legs over the side of the roof, huffing a bit.he wasn't in the best shape, at least for this kind of work. He was glad now that he had planned for the contingency that he wouldn't be able to get out downstairs, and used the thin cord to rappel himself down the roof. He drove away, still laughing at the stupidity the McMahons had shown in making him their enemy.  
  
"Mom? If you're here, please answer me.you need to answer me, please!" Stephanie called out. Hunter's bedroom door swung open.  
  
Looking up, expecting to see Hunter, she was shocked to see her mother.  
  
"What were you doing in there?"  
  
"I know it silly but-well, I thought I heard a noise by the bathroom on my way to my bedroom and I decided to go back to Hunter's room and just wait and see if I heard anything else outside while I was in there." Linda said, shaking off her dizzy spell, trying to hide it from Stephanie. Stephanie would only worry, she was so on edge as it was.  
  
" Back in there? Stephanie asked sharply. "What were you doing in there before?"  
  
"Just talking.."  
  
"What about.Mother, I swear if you-" Stephanie had turned white.  
  
"I didn't say a word about-that. Don't you think he would have already come to see you if I had?"  
  
Stephanie breathed again. Her mom was right. "But-"  
  
"Shhh.Did you hear anything? Is that what woke you up too?"  
  
"No, I didn't hear anything, but I did wake up because of something you said. Did you say you thought I sent you roses?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, I didn't. I didn't send you roses, Mom. And I don't know who did, either."  
  
"But the card, it had your name!"  
  
"Yes, I thought that's what you said. But it wasn't me."  
  
"If you're trying to frighten me-"  
  
"I'm not! I'm just telling you the truth! It wasn't me, and to tell you the truth, I don't like the fact that someone sent something to you using my name."  
  
"I-I don't either. But just because this happened.it doesn't mean that-"  
  
"Since you seem hell bent on denying that we are in any danger, Mom, I'll say it for you: Yes, it could well mean that the stalker sent you roses."  
  
"No, no.I."  
  
"Mother, you have to start taking this seriously!"  
  
"Stephanie, do you know how many threats this family receives? More than you could count!"  
  
"I know Mother, I've seen most of them. There's a lot of weird people out there, but most of them are harmless. I usually don't even think anything of it, because as long as this family is as rich as we are, we're bound to have a lot of jealous people who don't like us."  
  
"And you think this is somehow different from that then?"  
  
"Yes! Mother, someone's been able to get close enough to take photos of all of us! But I think it was the fact someone put A DRUG in my freaking drink that drove it all home for me." Stephanie said cynically. God, her mother was so stubborn!  
  
"Stephanie-"  
  
"You know what? Don't even say it, okay? I know you're in denial of this whole thing, probably because some part of you knows this time, it's for real. I'm scared, I'm not afraid to admit it. And I don't know about you, but I'm sleeping with my husband tonight. You can join us or not, but I know I'd feel better if you were in the same room with us." Stephanie was proud of herself for thinking to phrase it that way, like her mother was doing her a favor. Actually, she really would feel better with both of them near her. But having watched how Hunter got people to do anything he wanted, she was finally starting to learn a few things that were proving useful.  
  
"Well, I-suppose that's logical. I-Let's go." Linda practically ran into Hunter's room. Stephanie crawled into the bed, fitting herself with a finally sleeping Hunter. Her mother crawled in on her right, so that Stephanie was in the middle. It was a tight fit, but Stephanie finally felt her heartbeat beginning to slow. She turned her back to Hunter, so they were back to back for a moment. Hunter turned on his side and mumbled "What the hell-"  
  
"We're sleeping in here with you. Just go back to sleep, okay?" Stephanie said curtly, no room for argument in her voice. For a second she thought he was too far gone to respond, but he simply drawled "Ooookkkkayyy then." She could swear she heard laughter in the jerk's voice. She'd tell him about the roses in the morning, she decided. He then turned his back to her, pulling on his pillow, drifted back into unconsciousness, and while it took a little longer for Stephanie and Linda, they soon were asleep as well. 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

The Next Morning at the McMahon House  
  
"Linda, I'm sorry I was out all night.had a lot of fires to put out.Linda?" Vince called, upon entering his bedroom and finding it empty. He started opening doors, seeing Stephanie's bed rumpled, but no Stephanie.  
  
"Linda? Stephanie?" Vince called again, as he swung open one of the guest bedrooms. What he saw in there was enough to make his jaw nearly scrape the floor. In the bed was his wife, his daughter, and he was happy to say, his FORMER son in law. Hunter's arm was around Stephanie's waist, her arm was crossed over his, and Linda's arm was over Stephanie's stomach. They were all still asleep. Vince coughed loudly not once, but twice, and finally, Hunter awoke. Hunter seemed as surprised as Vince to see his bedmates but recovered quickly.  
  
"Hey, Vince.welcome back! Looks like you missed quite a party." Hunter said in that smarmy voice Vince hated deeply.  
  
"You-you---" Vince sputtered.  
  
"Vince, don't worry, I know it's too early for you to think of an appropriate ending for that great beginning of a sentence you had going there. Don't worry, I'm due at the gym this morning, so I must say my good- byes." Hunter said, trying desperately not to laugh. The look on Vince's face.oh, it was absolutely priceless. Hunter wished he had a camera, so he could frame the picture for his dartboard. Hunter extracted himself from Stephanie's hold on his arm, careful not to wake her.  
  
"See you around, Vince. And don't let Linda send the guards home anymore. Maybe fire your security team altogether. And tell them I said good morning, hey?" And with that, Hunter simply sauntered out right past Vince.  
  
Vince called down after him: "Yeah, you'd better get working out, considering you missed your match last night.don't let it happen again!"  
  
No longer laughing, Hunter shook his head at the callousness of the man. His own daughter.whenever he saw Vince in action, he could see how Stephanie acted the way she did on occasion. Her father was the King of Bastards. It was amazing she had turned out as great as she had, but that had to be all her own doing, or perhaps Linda's influence. On his way down the stairs, Hunter called Chad to make sure he was on his way. Chad said he was already outside, so Hunter was able to leave quickly. He needed to get over to the gym, try not to think about the reason why, for the first time in three weeks, he had finally been able to get a full night's sleep. It wasn't because he'd been next to Stephanie. No, that was ridiculous, just coincidence. Unless maybe his unconscious had sensed Stephanie was safe, because he had known she was right there. If that was the case, he was certain he'd be having more dreams, because it was not like there was any way last night was going to be a repeat performance. Hunter sat up straight, and spoke into the microphone. "Chad, change of plans. We're not going over to the gym; we're going somewhere else." He proceeded to give him the directions. Finally. Something productive he could do, something he could do to help this situation.  
  
Stephanie sleepily walked out from the bedroom, looking for Hunter. Her mother had awaken when she had and had gone to take a quick shower. Stephanie tried out a light gingerly, and it flipped on. The power was restored. She looked down the staircase hesitantly, decided she was being utterly ridiculous and grabbed the railing tightly as she made her way down the stairs, albeit at a snail's pace. She greeted her father at the breakfast table hesitantly, still angry about everything that had happened yesterday.  
  
"Dad, have you seen Hunter this morning? He stayed here last night and-"  
  
"Oh, I'm very well aware of the fact that he stayed here last night, Steph. Would you mind telling me why?"  
  
Stephanie responded to the anger in his voice with anger of her own. "Don't you dare get mad at us or Hunter, Dad. He did us a huge favor by staying here last night, and you ought to be grateful." She proceeded to tell him of the evening before's events.  
  
"Do you think it was the stalker?" Vince asked, his anger having dissipated in the middle of his daughter's speech.  
  
"I have no idea. There's the roses, I'm checking them out." Stephanie was careful not to touch the stems, her mother had said something about pricking herself. Which was unusual, because didn't floral stores usually de-thorn roses? She picked up the card, examining it. It said:  
  
Hi Mom! I just wanted to thank you for letting me come stay with you and Dad. I can't wait to talk to you again. All my love, always, Stephanie  
  
Stephanie fingered the card in disbelief. Her mother had been right. The card certainly looked like it had come from her. Wait. Wait one second- there was a second note-somehow it was folded into the card. Stephanie carefully peeled back the edges of the card. It was a slip of paper. Stephanie screamed "Oh, My God-Mom!?"  
  
Vince hurried over, took the paper and read it. His tan face paled, his hand shook. "Where's you Mother?" he asked abruptly.  
  
"In-in the shower. Go, Dad, check on her!" Vince raced up the steps, taking them by threes.  
  
For the paper read ominously: "One down, Vince..two to go. Or have I been remiss? Three, now. My Congratulations, Stephanie."  
  
No, this lunatic was NOT threatening her baby. Stephanie's hand massaged her stomach. Screw this. Stephanie started paging through a phone book. Guards, security guards.pick a number, any number. She wanted to pick one that was well-established, ones that costed a fortune, ones that probably couldn't be bought. She thumbed through the pages. Jeez, there were a lot of security companies in New York.who'd have figured that, she thought wryly.  
  
"Dad?" She called up, even as she dialed. "Dad, is Mom allright? Dad?" When there was no answer, she started climbing the stairs. A man had answered the phone and she told him curtly "Hang on a minute, okay?" She opened the bathroom and saw her father leaning over her mother's unconscious body. Her mother hadn't even made it into the shower, she was still dressed. "I'm going to have to call you back." Stephanie choked out, and dialed 911.  
  
The ambulance arrived within minutes, but it wasn't soon enough for Vince McMahon. As soon as they all got in the ambulance he began screaming. "You idiots! You sure took your sweet time getting here, didn't you? Well, let me tell you something. My wife, if she dies, I am suing all of you! You got that? Every single last one of you pathetic morons! You had better pray that your incompetence hasn't cost my wife her life, or I promise you, you'll be sorry.you'll be so sorry."  
  
Stephanie looked at her father in shock, his voice was actually choked up. She hadn't thought he had it in him. Huh. All these years, she'd never seen her father this broken up. Stephanie reached over to her mother, took her hand. It was so cold. Stephanie held it up to her cheek, rubbing it softly, trying to make her mother feel warmer. "I'm here, Mom." She whispered. "I'm here, Daddy's here.you're going to be fine, Mom. You fight this, okay? You're a fighter, a McMahon, we're all fighters, you know that Mom. We'll be here, I promise." She repeated it over and over again, rubbing her mother's hand all the way to the hospital. She slowly walked behind the EMTs who were wheeling her mother into ICU, and her father who was running along with them. "Please, let my mother be okay." Stephanie prayed.  
  
  
  
WWF Gym in New York City  
  
  
  
"Ugh! You sorry piece of--Oomph!" Undertaker yelled as Hunter slammed him again with his trusty sledgehammer.  
  
"You know, I really like this thing. I've been thinking of giving it a name. You know, men name their hunting rifles, bowling balls.other kinds of balls.so why shouldn't I name my sledgehammer? This bad boy, he's seen me through some rough times." Hunter said to 'Taker, in a perfectly conversational tone of voice, as thought he hadn't just finished giving 'Taker the beating of the century. 'Taker was bleeding profusely from his arm and forehead.  
  
"Son, I'm going to give you one last chance to save your miserable life. Get out of my sight, and maybe I'll forget this ever happened." 'Taker said in his deep baritone.  
  
"Well, now, I'm just all afraid of what you're going to do to me. 'Cause you look real intimidating crawling around on the floor right now." Hunter barked out. "So, what do you think I should name him?" he asked, slamming the sledgehammer right above the Undertaker's forehead. "Should I name him the American BadAss The Second? Because the First one, he's on his way to an early demise, isn't he now?" Hunter hit the wall again, sending paint flying.  
  
"You are going to be sorry for this, Son, that much I can guarantee-" 'Taker was cut off by the sledgehammer connecting with his leg.  
  
"Next time you open your mouth other than answering my question, I'm gonna break your kneecap. Do you understand?" Hunter asked, his voice so low that Undertaker could barely hear him. His breathing was incredibly loud, so he simply nodded.  
  
"Now, then, I think we understand each other. So I'm going to ask you the same question I asked you ten minutes ago. And this time, you're going to do the smart thing, and you're going to answer me. And you're going to tell me the truth, or I swear, by the time I am finished with you, I'm going to make what I did to Austin in that truck years ago look like child's play. Got that?" When 'Taker nodded, Hunter knelt down in front of him. "Good. Now. Are you the one who's stalking the McMahons? Are you the one who is threatening my wife?"  
  
"Last I heard, she ain't your wife-"  
  
"Wrong answer!" Hunter yelled, aiming the sledgehammer for another blow but 'Taker held up his hand, so he paused mid-swing.  
  
"I ain't the one who's doing it, whatever you're talking about. All I want from this damn company anymore is your title..and I plan to get that by getting you face to face. I'm not one for these stupid little mind games."  
  
"No, I didn't really have you pegged as a subtle man there, 'Taker." Hunter said thoughtfully.  
  
"Then why in hell are you attacking me!?"  
  
"Because you did kidnap Stephanie once before. And you do hate Vince.oh, you've been doing a good job pretending you don't as of late, but we all know sooner or later, you're going to be right back on his ass. You hate his guts, you're his enemy.  
  
"You know that ain't saying much there. Is there a person on God's earth who doesn't hate Vince? If that's how you're planning on finding this guy, well, kind of like picking a needle out of a really big ol' haystack, now ain't it?" 'Taker drawled.  
  
"I see you understand my quandary, here. So many enemies, so little time to carefully look at them all!" Hunter sighed. "But guess what?"  
  
'Taker frowned at the sudden cheerfulness in Hunter's tone. "What?" he asked listlessly.  
  
"It's your lucky day, 'Taker! I believe you! So, guess what? I'm gonna quit beating you, and I'm gonna go. How's that sound?"  
  
"Well, I'd say that after this, you're stupid to leave me here still breathing. You know I'm going to come after you for this some day."  
  
"I know." Hunter replied, throwing the sledgehammer over his shoulder.  
  
"You know what else, Son?" 'Taker called. "I understand." Hunter turned, curious. "My own wife, Sara.that freak DDP came after her, I wanted to kill everything that could possibly hurt her. So I do understand your predicament, Son, but it still doesn't mean I'm not going to put you in a world of pain after you've figured out who the s.o.b. is doing this to your woman." Hunter nodded, seeing 'Taker in an entirely new light.  
  
"Well, when you can walk again, you be sure to give me a call." He said, but there was a wealth of respect in his words. 'Taker watched as Hunter left, rubbing his leg, trying to get some feeling back. He almost felt sorry for Stephanie's stalker.but not really. He'd been in Hunter's place once, and it wasn't something he'd wish on his worst enemy. But he knew Hunter, knew what that man was capable of, had known it even before this little encounter of theirs, and that dumbass stalker had something real bad coming his way.  
  
Hunter, meanwhile whistled to himself softly as his footsteps echoed down the hallway. He went back over to the bench press on which sat a single piece of paper he'd written in the limo. It was a list of names: Undertaker, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Andrew Martin, Paul Heyman...and a dozen others, including Trish Stratus and The Rock but Hunter thought they were long shots. This kind of thing wasn't Rock's style, and while Hunter thought Trish had the brains and meanness of spirit to do this, he didn't think she really cared that much. But he'd find out for certain. He wasn't prepared to discount anyone at this point.  
  
"Hey! Austin? Can you come out, man? I want to talk to you!" Hunter called into the gym's shower room.  
  
Ah, the good old-fashioned process of elimination.  
  
"Yo, Austin! I haven't got all day to wait for you here!" he yelled again. "Kind of on a bit of a time table here." He muttered to himself.  
  
"What the hell do you want?" Austin asked, dressed only in a towel, as he had just emerged from the shower.  
  
"Just a few answers to some questions. Now, it's clichéd, I know, I really do, but we can either do this the easy way--Hunter hefted the sledgehammer-- or the hard way. I'm easy, I can go either way."  
  
Hunter smiled, a not-very-nice smile as he saw a bit of fear enter Austin's eyes. Hunter wearily crossed out the next three names on his list. He felt certain that none of them were responsible for what was happening to Stephanie. Austin had gone down after the first hammer blow and it had taken fifteen minutes for Hunter to get him back awake and cognizant enough to talk. He'd thrown cold water at Austin, slapped him, kicked him, but it had taken Hunter's waving of some peachy kind of perfume in Austin's face to finally rouse him, sputtering. Austin had denied everything, and from his days back when they'd been partners in crime, Hunter had gotten a good feel for the man and believed he was telling the truth. Kurt had started running when he'd seen Hunter rounding the corner, that was cute. Kind of made his day even more fun. But he'd caught up with Kurt of course, and had finally reached the conclusion Kurt wasn't the stalker but he was hiding something, something big, which Hunter would just have to pursue at a later time. Jericho had actually gotten some good shots in before he'd admitted that he hadn't had a freaking clue what Hunter had been talking about. Next up, Andy boy. He hadn't seen Andrew that morning around WWF training facilities, so he decided to just go track him down at the hotel. His cell phone vibrated in his side pocket. He closed his eyes, for some reason, the he always liked the sensation of the vibrating phone. Still smiling, he looked at the Caller ID-Stephanie's cell phone. He answered brightly: "Hello, Princess. What's up?"  
  
"Can you come over to the hospital? I'm sorry, I didn't know who else to call. There really wasn't anyone else I wanted to call, to tell you the truth." Stephanie said dully.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked immediately. But he was already moving out of the building.  
  
"I-It's my mother. She's here-and the doctors-they don't think---they don't think she's going to make it."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. You want me to keep talking to you until I get there?"  
  
"No.that's okay, really. Just get here when you can, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm on my way. What hospital?" Stephanie gave him directions and they hung up. He got to the hospital within ten minutes, telling Chad to break all speeding laws.  
  
He saw Steph immediately, she was sitting in a chair. She didn't stand up when he got there so he just sat next to her. "You know what's funny?" she asked. He shook his head. "I didn't even think before I called you. Whenever I have a problem, I always call you. I never realized that. I never realized a lot of things, apparently." She choked out. "But you know what? I can't do that anymore, can I? It's all different between us. I can't keep running to you whenever I need you, I-"  
  
"Just shut up, okay? It's fine. It's normal you called me.for a while, all we've had in the world is each other and it will take some time to adjust to not having that anymore. But we'll get there, and for now, I'm glad that you called me."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah.now tell me what happened to your mom. Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm not the one who's been hurt this time.my mother.she and I, we've never been really close, you know that."  
  
"I know.but I know how much you love each other, Stephanie."  
  
"How? How exactly do you know that? You've seen us together, you've seen the way we argue, fight.we've never had a normal mother and daughter relationship. Hunter, it's all a joke!"  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"Life! It's a joke, don't you get it?" Stephanie seethed hysterically. "Every time it seems like things are finally going to go right, things are coming together and everything is finally starting to make a perfect, beautiful kind of sense.like all of the events of your life have just been meant to lead you to be at a certain place, a certain time, when everything you've ever wanted is within your reach, and then, wham! Something like this comes along to show how much of a joke it all really is!"  
  
He couldn't let her start thinking this way. It was self-destructive. "Stephanie.that's not right at all! No, nothing in this family is normal. Do you know why? It's because normal doesn't exist. It's a fallacy, Steph. How do you define normal? And even if you could define it, why would you ever want to be normal, Princess? Normal is for freaking morons, not for people like us. People like the two of us, we're different. We're better than just ordinary, mundane everyday people off the street because we know life isn't for living. It's for taking, molding it into whatever it is that we want it to be. And the only joke about life is on the people who are stupid enough to get in our way."  
  
"If my mother dies."  
  
"Why are you even talking like that? She's not gonna die."  
  
"Are you suddenly God now? I don't think so! You weren't there, you didn't see her, you don't know! She was so cold, I tried to make her warmer, but she still felt like ice. What if she dies without my ever saying.there are so many things I need to say to her!"  
  
"I get it." Hunter said oddly. "What you said, I get it now. Once again, Steph, it's all about you!"  
  
"What?" Stephanie gasped.  
  
"You said all you ever did was argue and fight.and now you're afraid she's going to die because that would make it all about you, just like everything always is. All you're thinking about is yourself..do you even give a damn whether your own mother even dies?"  
  
Stephanie blinked in shock, then her eyes widened. She flew at him, unthinkingly, striking his face so hard it left a white imprint on his cheek and his head jerked back to the side. He swallowed hard and looked down at her, saying nothing.  
  
"For you to even say that to me.you.do you really think that badly of me? She whispered.  
  
"No, I don't. How do you feel about me right now?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I asked, How do you-"  
  
"I heard what you asked. What do you mean?"  
  
"I meant that what I just said to you is on the same level as some of the things you've said to your mother. Did it change the way you feel about me? Did you suddenly hate me and want nothing to do with me ever again?"  
  
"No, of course not, it was just so cruel.."  
  
"Well, that's all you really need to know. Yeah, you've said some horrendous things to your mother, but that wouldn't change the fact that you're her daughter, she loves you."  
  
"So what, this is all some kind of demonstration?"  
  
"Basically, yeah. Do you get it?"  
  
Before Stephanie could respond, a haggard looking nurse came over.  
  
"Would you like to sit down? I'm afraid I have some bad news."  
  
"What.?" Stephanie asked, afraid at the nurse's pitying expression. 'No, I don't want to sit down.just come out with it already!"  
  
"I'm very sorry, but she didn't make it. Your mother died." The Nurse said sympathetically.  
  
Hunter caught Stephanie before she fell to the floor. "Princess, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." he murmured into her hair as Stephanie started crying on the floor. Neither of them noted the young man coming up behind them, waving frantically. 


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Hunter rocked Stephanie as she continued to sob.  
  
A young man rushed forward: "No, no, no! Nurse Fitzwater, my God! This is the wrong woman! That woman over there, the brunette in the red sweater, it's her mother who died! My God, I am so sorry, Mrs. McMahon, I am truly sorry. Your mother, we still don't know how to treat her as of yet, but she is very much alive! Get out of here!" The young doctor hissed at the mortified nurse. "I am sorry for that misunderstanding. Please, let me help you up, ma'am."  
  
After a moment of soaring hope, Stephanie laughed. But she shoved his hand aside angrily. "What the hell kind of hospital is this?" She yelled. "You made me think..you made me think my Mother was dead! That is-get away from me! You get back to my Mother, and you better make sure she lives or I will sue this whole place for-for-for---"  
  
"Emotional damage?" Hunter finished smoothly.  
  
"Yeah! What my husband said! Get back in there and the next time I see your face, you had better be telling me my mother's going to be fine!"  
  
"That was unbelievable!" Hunter muttered angrily.  
  
"That's one word for it. I can think of others. Jeez, I can't take this anymore! I have to see what's going on!" Stephanie pushed herself off of the floor before Hunter offered to help her up and walked over to peer into the room where her mother was. Hunter followed suit.  
  
"You want some coffee or something?" He asked, looking into the glass window of the room over her shoulder.  
  
"No, can't."  
  
"You can't drink coffee? You love coffee.oh, yeah. I'd almost forgotten." He mused.  
  
"Forgotten? That I was pregnant?" Stephanie asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, yeah. You know with everything going down the way it is, you know!" Hunter said defensively. "So you're giving up coffee for your pregnancy?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm going to give up all caffeine for the baby's sake. I want the baby to be perfect."  
  
"I don't think I want to be around you for the next eight months, Stephanie. You, caffeineless.it ain't going to be pretty."  
  
Unthinkingly, Stephanie responded: "Hey, it's only six and a half now..I think I'll make it." She murmured, still trying to crane a neck for a glimpse of her mother. She was so worried, her thoughts so jumbled and distracted that she didn't even think twice about what she had just unwittingly revealed.  
  
Behind her, Hunter couldn't seem to make his voice start working. 


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Hunter inhaled deeply, his arms reaching out to touch her, but he stopped himself and took a step back.  
  
She didn't even realize what she'd said, he knew. But he sure as hell did. But he wasn't going to ask her, no, no.Stephanie wouldn't know the truth if it smacked her upside the face.  
  
"I'm uh-getting coffee." He said, beating a hasty exit, his thoughts in disarray.  
  
What was going on here? He realized he hadn't even been letting himself think about Stephanie's pregnancy. He hadn't wanted to think about it at all. He hadn't even entertained the notion that he could be the father.why wouldn't she have called him a month ago, when she'd first found out? Unless maybe she hadn't found out then.what if she'd only found out a short while ago--and that's why she had come back? To use this pregnancy against him.could she be that cold?  
  
Yeah, she could, but..something still didn't sit right with all of this. Something still felt off. It was this damn stalker business, he knew that was stopping him from seeing this right. Normally, he'd be able to process what all of his thoughts, his instincts were telling him, but he'd been thrown off of his game by Stephanie being in danger like this, by those insane dreams that prevented him from actually getting some sleep. As soon as Stephanie had announced her pregnancy, a part of him--apparently, the part which did his thinking--had just shut down. He hadn't even entertained the thought it could be his child because he knew that she would have used it against him, used it to make him do whatever the hell she wanted. But instead she'd claimed Kurt as the father, what possible purpose could that have served for her if she had been lying? All of this was making his head pound. Stephanie would drive him insane, even if she wasn't even deliberately setting out to do so. He turned a corner and slammed into a young blonde nurse.  
  
"Oh, jeez. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." He apologized as he helped her up.  
  
She looked at him, dazed, but managed a smile. "Hey, it's not every day I bump into a man like you..Hello, again, Mr. Helmsley."  
  
"I have to say I'm sorry again because I don't remember where I've seen you."  
  
Her face fell. "Oh! Wait, uh, you were with the doctor who was examining my wi-Stephanie McMahon, yesterday, weren't you?"  
  
"It's allright you didn't recognize me, I mean, you were worrying about a lot of other things yesterday. How is she doing?"  
  
"Physically? Fine, but.she's going through some things." An idea occurred and he smiled slowly. He saw her nervously bite her lip as her eyes blinked a couple of times. He put an arm around her shoulder and asked "Nurse"-he checked her nametag quickly "Richards, actually, you could really help me out quite a bit. I was just on my way to get a cup of coffee, I would love it if you would join me."  
  
"Well, I'm really just getting off of my break but.I could.I could take a few more minutes, I took a really short break yesterday." She leaned into his shoulder and smiled flirtatiously.  
  
"I'm so glad. My name's Hunter, by the way. What's your first name, Nurse Richards?"  
  
"Susan." Susan giggled, because she was passing one of her friends who was looking slack-jawed at the Adonis she had with his arm around her. She managed a little wave, but her attention was completely captured by Hunter as they went into the hospital cafeteria.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Stephanie was still looking into the hospital room and trying to catch a glimpse of her mother. She glanced behind of her, wondering where Hunter had gone to. She somewhat remembered something about coffee, but she was just so stressed out, she wasn't even certain if she'd actually even called him. Sighing, she turned back to the room. Well, if he was really here, he'd come back.  
  
  
  
"Susan, here's your coffee.thank you for joining me."  
  
"Oh, it's no problem.what can I do for you?" There was a wealth of meaning in her tone.  
  
"Well, you see, I'm worried about my friend, Stephanie. The woman yesterday."  
  
"I see." Disappointment tinged in her voice.  
  
"Yeah, she's having a baby with a buddy of mine and-"  
  
"It's not your baby?" She asked, smiling again.  
  
"Oh, no! She all but announced to the world her pregnancy, and she definitely said my buddy was her baby's father. You see, I'm their best friend, and I came to the hospital with her for moral support." He lied smoothly. "The father, he's having health problems"-that part was true, he had beat up Angle along with Jericho this afternoon in his little interrogations-"And so I'm just looking after Stephanie, you know, as a favor."  
  
"That is so kind of you. He's so lucky to have you for a friend." She said, as tears shone in her eyes. To capitalize, he slid his hand near hers, not quite touching, but inviting her touch. She took his hand and stroked it.  
  
"Oh, it's not kind at all..he'd do the same for me, you know? So I just, I want to be able to tell him everything is fine with her."  
  
"Oh it is, she truly suffered no ill effects. It was such a small amount of senna, you see. She's perfectly fine."  
  
"I think I just needed to hear it again. I worry about her, you know? My friend, he'd just be so upset if something happened with the baby.especially since she's only in the beginning of her first trimester.don't most miscarriages happen early?"  
  
"Yes, that's true, most miscarriages occur in the first trimester, but Mrs. McMahon is nearing the end of her first trimester, so she should be able to breathe easier soon." Susan smiled, but that smile faded when she saw the expression on Hunter's face.  
  
"Thank you for having coffee with me. And thank you so much for reassuring me. You have no idea how truly helpful you've been. And I have to say I'm sorry for the third time in ten minutes to you, but I just remembered that there's something I need to take care of." He stood, reached over to shake her hand, and left a thoroughly confused Susan Richards sitting at a table.  
  
Stephanie turned around again as she heard footsteps behind her. She blinked in shock and then laughed for what felt like the first time in weeks. "You're here! I can't believe you're here!" She said as she reached out to pull him close to her. Stephanie felt her brother's surprise when she hugged him. They'd never been the hugging type of people, but it seemed that lately, she'd been hugging everyone in sight. Shane McMahon awkwardly hugged his sister back. "Hey, Steph.so what is going on?" He asked. "Is this Mom's room?" he asked anxiously.  
  
"So you know what happened?" Stephanie asked, having mercy, and letting him out of their embrace. Shane peered past her shoulder into the room window.  
  
"Yeah, I stopped by the house as I was driving into the city, and the neighbors were all talking. I caught most of the conversation. But I don't know that much. Is Mom okay? And where's Dad? Is he with her?"  
  
"Yes, Dad's with Mom. And we-oh, God, Shane, everything's such a horrible mess. It's-Mom's I-" Stephanie stuttered.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey.calm down, okay, sis? Let's go sit down, allright? We'll still be able to see the room." Shane said as he steered Stephanie over to some chairs.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm just really tired."  
  
"Had a bad night's sleep?" He asked, and then cursed himself for the stupidity of that question at this time. He was never good with any of this emotional crap.  
  
"No.actually, last night was the best night's sleep I've had for a really, really long time. But I'm just scared because of this whole damn stalker. He poisoned our mother, Shane. You do know about this whole stalker thing, right?" She asked uncertainly.  
  
Shane nodded. "Yeah, Dad, he e-mailed me about it. Basically, he just told me to watch my back." He decided not to mention the fact that he'd started to receive e-mails of his own, e-mails that were entirely different from the ones his father had received. He hadn't even told his father yet..and he wasn't certain if he wanted to worry his father with all of this, especially with mother in the hospital..mom needed dad, and Shane would just have to take care of things for a while so his father would be able to devote all of his attention to mom.  
  
"At least he told you." Stephanie muttered. "He might have-Shane, what if she dies? We've done so many things to her, Shane, what if we never get the chance to make up for it?"  
  
"What's with the attack of conscience, Steph? Everything we've ever done, it pales into comparison with dear old Dad, and Mom's always forgiven him.she'll forgive us too. So if that's what's getting you here, don't let it. Mom wouldn't want that. She wouldn't want you to be upset."  
  
"I know! That makes it all the worse! I know Mom wouldn't want me upset, but that's why I am! Of all the people who've been in my life, Mom's one of the two people who have ever made any real effort to get to know me, the real me. And I've never told her how much that's meant to me.I've been so cruel. She's my own mother, and I've done such horrible things to her.she's never hardly said anything, but I know there's a part of her that just thinks I'm a terrible person. A terrible daughter. What if that part of her never forgives me, Shane?"  
  
Shane had been worrying about the same thing the entire ride over, had actually been thinking about it for a while now, but he didn't want to say so. He and Steph had hurt mom, and he'd wanted to try and make amends for some time now.but he just hadn't been clear on how. It was obvious his sister was on the verge of a total collapse. He wondered what else was eating at her. There had to be a lot more that was going on, because he knew his sister, and she was one of the strongest people he'd ever met in his entire life. This maniac stalker must really be doing a good job of getting into her head, he thought. Or, actually, Hunter. Had to be. Hunter was the only person he'd ever met who could wrap Stephanie into knots like this. Maybe it was a culmination of everything, but either way, he could see Stephanie was seriously falling apart at the seams. He racked his brain for something to say to his sister, anything to make her feel better, but as he looked into her eyes, the desperate need for reassurance that was looking back at him, he drew a blank and instead looked away and told her to tell him everything that had been happening. She did so, deciding not to mention her scheme with Kurt, telling him only that she'd announced Kurt as her baby's father, how she had found out about this stalker, everything that had been happening so very quickly.  
  
Shane sat in silence for a moment, took in a deep breath. "I, uh.okay, then. I probably should've come back sooner, huh?"  
  
"You think?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I had no idea things had gotten so bad with you and Hunter. Somehow I pictured him coming back from his injury and the two of you taking a wrecking ball to dad, not to each other."  
  
"Don't you ever watch television, Shane? It was on, for the world to see.or why didn't you at least call me? Or write? Or send a freaking e-mail? I called you all the time, but I could never get ahold of you.you were always out or not even at the same hotel."  
  
"I've been traveling a lot of it was outside of the U.S. I was never really at the same place for long, for more than a couple days. I never got your messages, Steph. I'm sorry."  
  
"Traveling? Traveling where?"  
  
"But where is Hunter now? Hasn't the fact that your pregnant softened him up at least a little? My brother in law, he's a hard ass, but I know he likes kids..it's just hard to believe that he's being so cool about this pregnancy."  
  
"I told you the baby's Kurt's!"  
  
"I know that's what you told me, but how stupid do you think I am, Steph? I mean, come on! You, Kurt? That's..against the laws of God and man, okay? The mental picture alone, that just-ugh.." Shane shivered.  
  
"What the hell do you know!" Stephanie shot back, angry.  
  
"I know enough to know there's no way this kid's Kurt's.Steph! Even before you got married, I know you always had a thing for Hunter-"  
  
"You are wrong about that! That's completely untrue!" Stephanie almost yelled, completely mortified.  
  
"Stephanie! You can't seriously believe I didn't see the way you looked at him.even back then, when he used to get on you about everything. You were floored by him.it's always been him, even when you were with Andrew. Did you ever even realize that?"  
  
Stephanie blinked in shock.  
  
"Well, it's true.I don't even think you even realized it, but whenever you and Hunter were in a room.it was like, I don't know-like this pull, you know? I can't explain it, I never could. But it was there nonetheless. Sometimes, there's just people in the world who are supposed to be in your life, somehow, they are a part of it even when they're not. I think Hunter's one of those people for you."  
  
"You think I was in love with Hunter when I was with Andrew? It's been two years, Shane! And you're just telling me this now? Here?"  
  
"Not in love, exactly, you had more of a morbid fascination with him. And hey, I'm just saying.look, you're the one who's lying here, Stephanie! You're lying to Hunter about this, and it's only going to add to your problems with him. You need to tell the truth, and I mean now, or it could get really ugly."  
  
"It can't get any uglier." Stephanie snorted.  
  
"Wanna bet? You know Hunter even better than I do.what's going to be his reaction to this when he finds out? Right now, you can salvage it, it's only been a day since you've told the lie.blame it on hormones or something. But if you keep it going, I swear, it's going to blow up in your face. I don't want that to happen to you. You're my sister, and I don't want you hurt."  
  
"Neither do I." Hunter said as he suddenly appeared a couple of feet away down the hall.  
  
"Hey, man." Shane greeted his brother in law.  
  
"How long were you listening?" Stephanie asked nervously.  
  
"Only a second.why? Were you saying something you didn't want me to overhear?" Hunter asked carefully.  
  
"No! Of course not! I-" Stephanie tittered, but Hunter cut her off.  
  
"I'm glad you're here, Shane. Stay with okay? There's somewhere I need to be. But don't leave Stephanie alone, you got that? And if you need me back here, my phone'll be on. Call and I'll come back."  
  
"Yeah, but where are you going?"  
  
"Somewhere that's not here." Was all the answer Hunter felt like giving. He looked at Stephanie for a moment and for some reason, Stephanie felt chills zipping up and down the length of her body. She sat down warily, looking at him, but Hunter simply left.  
  
"That was weird.why was he looking at you like that? Could he have overheard us?" Shane asked. "Cause I hope he did."  
  
"No, he didn't overhear us.we would have seen him coming. I don't know what that look was, but I don't want to talk about it anymore. Could you just go find a doctor and find out what's going on with Mom?"  
  
Shane looked down at his sister and decided to drop the subject. For now, at least. Sighing, he went off to locate his mother's physicians.  
  
  
  
A Short Time Later  
  
  
  
"Oh! Oh, man!" Kurt moaned.  
  
"Quit being such a baby and suck it up." Stacy Keibler told him crossly.  
  
"But it hurts!" Kurt whined.  
  
"What, like you've never been hurt before? This is the WWF, Kurt, and if you're going to whine about this little beating, you are totally in the wrong business." Stacy said disgustedly as she cleaned out one of the gashes on Kurt's arm with antiseptic.  
  
"Well, it does!"  
  
"Okay, fine! You know what? I don't need this! I come by, on my way out of the gym, I see you crawling around on the ground, beaten up, and out of the goodness of my heart, I decide to help you out, and you repay me by wussing out over a couple of little cuts?" Stacy started to box up the bandages but Kurt gripped her arm.  
  
"I'm sorry." Kurt apologized. "You're right, you are.but he knew what he was doing, all right. He knew how to do maximum damage with minimum effort. So it may not look all that bad to you, but trust me, it's bad on the inside."  
  
"So what happened?" She asked, genuinely curious now.  
  
"I happened." Hunter's voice came from behind them and Stacy scrambled to her feet.  
  
"Hunter! I didn't realize-I mean, if I'd have know this was your work," Stacy trailed off.  
  
"You would have stayed out of it?" Hunter asked mirthlessly.  
  
"I would never want to interfere in your business.such as it is." Stacy told him.  
  
"Good. Now get out."  
  
"Of course." Stacy murmured. Kurt winced. As Stacy walked past Hunter, she said casually "But don't you think you've done enough damage to him? I mean, it's hardly sporting to kick the ass of someone who's hardly in a position to defend himself." She asked carefully. "And you are..such a sportsman..wouldn't you rather come out and play with me? I'd be much more of a challenge." Stacy teased softly. Kurt looked at her in surprise.was Stacy Keibler actually trying to help him out?  
  
If she was, he would never know because in that next moment, after looking blankly at Stacy for all of a second, Hunter threw Stacy over his shoulder, placed her down on her feet outside of the room, came back in and locked it, ignoring Stacy's shrieking protests outside the door.  
  
"I actually was finished with you Angle, but now I found that I may have missed something in our last.conversation."  
  
"I'm not a stalker!" Kurt protested. "I'm not, I swear on my medals! I swear, Hunter!"  
  
"I'm not here to ask you about that, Kurt. I'm here to ask you about something entirely different. And you're going to tell me truth, or I swear on your grave my face will be the last one you ever see."  
  
Kurt believed him instantly. "Yeah, sure, whatever you want to know, really, there's no need for anymore violence. It's totally uncalled for."  
  
"I think I'll be the judge of that, but let's just get right down to it. I really only have one question, and it's an easy one, even for you: are you the father of Stephanie's baby?"  
  
Of all the questions he'd thought Hunter might ask, somehow that one had never popped into Kurt's brain. What answer was it that Hunter wanted? He tried to divine something from Hunter's expression, but it was completely closed. If he told the truth, Stephanie would kill him for ruining her so called grand plan. But Hunter would kill him if he didn't tell him, and well, Stephanie wasn't here, and Hunter was, now wasn't he? Kurt decided to let his survival instincts have their way in this.  
  
"Nope." Kurt replied, hoping that was the answer to give. Otherwise, there was that chair just beyond Hunter's shoulder.he could make a dive for it, maybe. But Hunter wasn't pouncing on him yet. Kurt looked up at him warily. "Was there something else?" he asked, like this was a perfectly pleasant and civilized conversation.  
  
"You're really not the father?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Really? How are you so certain? Did you even sleep with her?"  
  
"No?"  
  
"It's not a guessing game, Kurt! Either you did or you didn't!" Hunter squatted to look Kurt in the face.  
  
Kurt looked Hunter squarely in his eyes, and said steadily: "No, I haven't slept with Stephanie.that is, at least not yet!" And with that, Kurt shoved Hunter off his haunches and tried to crawl for the chair, but he stopped when Hunter started laughing. Kurt turned, suspicious, but Hunter wasn't even making a move to defend himself, he was just doubled up on the floor laughing, laughing so hard that there were actual tears coming from his eyes. Kurt stopped going for the chair, it hurt too badly anyways. "What the hell are you laughing about?!" he demanded.  
  
"Man, that was.oh, shit...whoo! You knock me over, you crawl over me.going for that chair, like it's gonna help you, oh, man Kurt, what am I going to do to you?" Hunter sobered, a complete 180, making Kurt wish he'd made it to the chair.  
  
Suddenly Hunter stood. "You know what? I don't think I'm going to do a damn thing to you, Kurt. I don't think you ever slept with my wife, so now, all I'm wondering is why you and she would say that you had.it's not exactly the smartest thing to do, you know, saying you slept with another man's wife, especially when that man is me. So you are going to tell me exactly what my devious, manipulative witch of an ex-wife is doing to me, and you're going to tell me now."  
  
This far, Kurt wasn't prepared to go. Hunter was scary when he was angry, that was definitely true, but in a lot of ways, Stephanie was even scarier. Hunter would just either beat you within an inch of your life, or just screw with your head just a little bit. Stephanie.she didn't have Hunter's physicality, so she had perfected the mental arts of torture, and with her in the position of being Vince's assistant, she'd be out for blood, if he knew his friend. He tried to think of some kind of plausible lie to tell Hunter, anything he might actually buy into, but he couldn't think of a damn thing. His head hurt too much, and it was really sucking that the two people in the world Kurt never would have wanted on their bad side toward him were and he felt like he was trapped.  
  
But as luck had it, Kurt didn't even have to open up his mouth because Hunter's phone started vibrating and he answered, seriously ticked off that he had been interrupted yet again.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked curtly, not recognizing the phone number on his Caller I.D.  
  
"Mr. Helmsley?" Came a distorted voice.  
  
"I believe I said, yeah?" Hunter replied evenly, but inside his blood had turned to ice. What the hell?  
  
"I believe there is something that ought to be brought to your attention, Mr. Helmsley. Please direct yourself down the hallway and take a left."  
  
"The hell I am! Who is this?"  
  
"This is the person who is currently looking at your wife and had a very nasty knife in his pocket. Imagine the things I could do to such a lovely young woman in only a few seconds with that knife, Mr. Helmsley."  
  
Hunter was silent, he swallowed hard. "You're looking at my wife, prove it. Where is she? What is she wearing? Who's with her?" he challenged.  
  
"Mr. Helmsley.such a suspicious man! You are going to be a fun player.you are the Game, after all.I look forward to it..but, in answer to your question, the hospital, a white shirt with not nearly enough cleavage if you ask me, a long black tailored skirt.and the younger Mr. McMahon is currently with her. They look so very upset.I wonder why?" he laughed heartily.  
  
"You sick bas-" Hunter breathed, starting down the hallway. He knew this was some kind of trap, an ambush, but if this psycho was near to Stephanie, he would have to take his chances. He couldn't depend on Shane to be quick enough to do anything to help protect Stephanie. Hunter slid across the wall, looking around him.damn, why hadn't he brought his sledgehammer? He turned left. "What now?" he demanded.  
  
"Do you like games?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Games, Mr. Helmsley. Do you like them? Are you a chess man? Parcheesi? Well, you may not realize this, but the game is now called monsters and lambs.have you ever played that game, Mr. Helmsley?"  
  
"Yeah.when I was a kid."  
  
"And do you remember the rules?"  
  
"Yeah.the objective of the game is to capture all of the other team's players.you take them out of the game, one by one." Hunter trailed off, realizing.  
  
"Well done, Mr. Helmsley! Yes, yes, that's exactly right! Linda is Lamb Number One.I do believe Shane has a date with destiny to be Lamb Number Two.after all, your wife and father in law are in a category all to themselves, now aren't they? It's so hard to think of them as lambs.but I promise you, they certainly are. As are you, Mr. Helmsley. As are you."  
  
The phone hung up. Hunter pressed the buttons wildly, not noticing the footsteps behind him, and then, as the sledgehammer hit him squarely in the back and Hunter collapsed on the floor, he didn't notice anything anymore. 


	18. Chapter Eighteen

"If I was your girl, oh, the things I'd do to you, I'd make you call out my name and ask who it belonged to-" Stacy Keibler sung along with her car radio, she'd always loved Janet Jackson's 'If', and it seemed to fit her mood especially right now. She was just pulling out of the parking lot when she realized she'd forgotten her bracelet somewhere around the exercise bike. She pulled the car back in to its spot and lightly jogged back into the gym. She retrieved the bracelet and got a bottle of water from a vending machine. Out of a morbid curiosity she peeked into the room where she'd left Hunter and Kurt. Neither of them were there..she wondered where either of them had gone off to. Hunter had seemed to be in an especially foul mood today, he had even lifted her bodily from the room.  
  
She had been seriously angry-and much to her chagrin, she had actually been turned on.the feel of his hands around her waist, the lifting sensation..God, was there nothing that man could do that would make her stop wanting him like this? It drove her insane. Stacy realized she'd taken a wrong turn, and she was taking the longer way out. Oh, well. That was when she saw the body on the floor. For a split second she thought it was Kurt, that Hunter had really lost it, had actually gone too far. But a second later, she realized it was Hunter himself and started gasping for air. "Oh, my God! Hunter? Are you okay? Oh, God!" Stacy screamed as she felt him for a pulse. She peered under his shirt and saw that there were two or three huge swelling bumps, like he'd been hit with something heavy. She tried shaking his shoulder, to get him up. "Hunter?" she yelled into his ear. She pulled open her bottle of water and splashed the contents on his face. Nothing. "I'm going to get some help. Don't move, okay?" Don't move, she cursed herself. That was dumb. Like he could. Well, he wasn't awake to hear her, so much the better. Then Stacy heard a voice coming from somewhere. She picked up the cellular phone lying next to Hunter. "He's going to have to call you back." She told the caller. She had almost hung up when a distorted voice said "You hang up this phone and you are dead."  
  
"What?" She shrieked. "Fuck you!"  
  
"Am I to understand Mr. Helmsley is unconscious?"  
  
"Yes! You moron, he needs a doctor. I need to call a doctor!  
  
"Did you happen to see who has done this?"  
  
"No! I swear I didn't see anything, I swear!" Stacy told him wildly. "I just found him. Look, he's really hurt, please, let me hang up. I need to call a doctor."  
  
"Very well. It wouldn't do for Mr. Helmsley to get out of the game so early, now would it?" The phone clicked off. Stacy started to dial 911-but the battery died. "No!" She yelled, throwing the damn phone against the wall. Stacy raced ahead down the hall and all of a sudden there was a gunshot. She turned wildly and saw that it had missed her arm by all of a centimeter and landed in the wall. She screamed again and flattened herself to the floor, beginning to cry. Then she heard a phone ring in the general vicinity of where the gunshot had come from.  
  
A man's voice answered. "Yeah, Boss?" and then "What the hell do you mean it's off? I'm supposed to 'wound but not fatally injure the man, remember?'" A pause. "Fine, I'm on my way out..someone-guess it couldn't have been him if he's already down-was passing by. I need to go take care of it."  
  
Stacy so didn't like the sound of that. She started crawling on the floor and tried to hide in a doorway. She heard footsteps come out.and they walked away from her. She peered back around the corner.no one. Maybe 'Boss' or whoever had decided to give her a break. Stacy shakily got to her feet and ran for a pay phone, dialed 911 and returned to Hunter's side. He still hadn't come to, and she was still freaked by the whole phone conversation and of course the freaking gunshot.she mulled over the man's words. "Wound but not fatally injure?" They'd had to have been talking about Hunter.they didn't want him dead, but it seemed they wanted him out of the way. And they probably weren't behind this, the man on the phone hadn't even seemed to know what had occurred. She wondered if Kurt had gone for some payback, but dismissed it. Kurt wouldn't have even been able to pick up the damn sledgehammer after the job Hunter had done on him.  
  
What the hell was going on here?  
  
"Don't worry, I'm here..you're going to be okay. You've been hit with sledgehammers a lot of times." She trailed off. But not like this. Never like this. "You're going to be fine." She repeated again, as much to reassure herself as him.  
  
  
  
While Stacy was having quite possibly the worst day of her life in the waking world, Hunter was having the worst nightmare of his in another realm.  
  
  
  
"You could have saved us." A soft voice told Hunter.  
  
Hunter got to his feet.where was he? He breathed out, his breath coming out in puffs. The air here was icy cold."Who's there?" he called.  
  
"You could have saved us." The voice came again, this time, it was so very sad, and closer to him.  
  
"Saved who? From what? I don't understand!" Hunter called again.  
  
Suddenly, out from the mists surrounding him, Stephanie walked out, holding something in both her hands. God, she was breathtaking. She wore a long, flowing white gown that pooled around her ankles. Her hair fell in waves around her shoulders, her skin glowed. "You could have saved us." She said again, her voice accusatory. "But.you didn't. Why? We loved you."  
  
"I-What is happening? What's going on here?" He demanded.  
  
But Stephanie wouldn't look at him, would only look down at the bundle in her hands.  
  
"Stephanie, what's wrong?" Hunter crossed over to her side and looked down.  
  
It was a baby. Her baby. Their baby. His baby. "Hi." he whispered dumbly at the tiny figure. Hazel eyes looked soulfully back up at him from the folds of the blanket. For the first time, Stephanie looked back at Hunter, tears streaming down her face. "Why didn't you save us? You could have, you know. If you would have just figured it out sooner, you could have helped me. I didn't want to leave you, we didn't want to leave you, not like that. Never that way."  
  
"Why-why would you leave me?" Hunter asked, trying to get a handle on this situation, and unable to tear his eyes away from his baby. He looked up at Stephanie's eyes and his heart froze at the sadness. the pain he saw inside of them. "Stephanie, please, tell me! You have to tell me why we're here! Did I do something wrong? If I did, I'm so sorry.Just tell me what to do, I'll fix it, I'll make it okay again, I promise. I swear to you, I'll do whatever you need me to do." He said frantically.  
  
Stephanie looked at him steadily. "Listen to your heart. That's all you can do now. Everything's already in motion, I can't stop it. Neither of us can."  
  
"Listen to my heart? What kind of crank advice is that? What is this!?" Fear had quickly turned to anger inside Hunter. How could she expect him to help if he didn't know what the hell she was talking about? God knew he wanted to, would help her however he could, but the road to hell had always been paved with good intentions..  
  
"It's all I can give you anymore, Hunter. If you want us, you need to do it. For all of our sakes."  
  
Stephanie flinched, looked past her shoulder, like she'd heard a noise. Suddenly, the baby was gone, Stephanie was still there, but there was no white flowing dress, only the tattered remains of a long light red dress that had clearly been through hell. It was caked with deep black mud, and a deep blood-red clay, torn in several places. Stephanie looked around wildly, she was breathing hard.  
  
Hunter asked "Stephanie, what's happening? Steph? Where's the baby?"  
  
But Stephanie collapsed to the ground. "I can't do it anymore!" She cried. "I'm so tired. I can't-I can't run anymore." She choked out. And then Hunter realized the scenery had changed. From weird mists to.a farm? It was dark out, the only light came from the full moon and the stars. What the--?  
  
He made a move to go to her, to run to her, pick her up, carry her away.but his legs were like dead weight. He couldn't move. "Stephanie! You have to run! You can do this, I promise!" He didn't know why he had said that, but he'd somehow felt it was important for her to run.  
  
"I prayed you would come.oh, Hunter, I wish you were here. This hurts so bad!" Stephanie whimpered, clutching her stomach. There was another sound, very near now. Stephanie inhaled, and started to crawl quickly across the grass. "No! Please, no, no! I don't want this! Please, someone help me!" She managed to get to her feet, but the sound was closer now, and Hunter could make out the figure of a man striding toward them.  
  
"Steph, run! I'll hold him off! Run, damn it!" He told her, although he didn't know how he was supposed to fight when he couldn't even move. Stephanie had managed to get unsteadily to her feet but they immediately caught on a branch and she went down. She gasped loudly, then put a hand over her mouth, trying to silence herself.  
  
"Please don't do this, please..I'm sorry, okay? Is that what you want to hear from me? Is that all? I'm sorry, I truly am.you don't have to do this!" Stephanie wailed, still clutching her stomach. Hunter realized how big it had gotten.how far along was she here in this place?  
  
"You've given me a good run of it, Stephanie, I'll admit it. But then, I knew you would." Hunter heard the man say as he walked slowly to Stephanie. Everything was happening in a kind of slow-motion, Hunter tried desperately to make his legs work, but the mists.they were coming.and the farm was fading..he heard Stephanie's final scream, and then..there was utter and complete silence.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hunter Hearst-Helmsley's eyes blinked open, his breathing coming in shallowly. He couldn't see very well.everything was still so cloudy.  
  
"Hunter?" A soft voice whispered. "Thank God you're awake."  
  
"Steph? You're okay.you're okay." he cried, reaching toward the voice, feeling her arms, pulling her down to his face, and kissing her desperately. "You're okay, you're okay.." He breathed inbetween kisses. "I love you so much, I do. I'll do it different, I promise."  
  
Stacy didn't know what the hell Hunter was babbling about but..he was kissing her and it was difficult to think..even coming out of a near coma, the man was every bit an amazing kisser. Then she realized he had called her Stephanie and pulled out of his kiss, much as she was loathe to do it. She looked up and stiffened when she saw someone behind them in the mirror on the wall..Stephanie. Her heart began to race.oh, the Fates were kind.Stacy grinned, and leaned back into Hunter. "Oh, Hunter, I love you too!" She told him, trying to capture Stephanie's whine, but not so much so that Stephanie would notice. She heard the door shut tightly behind her.  
  
"Wha-uh-Stacy? Where did Stephanie go?" Hunter asked, confused.  
  
"It's okay.shh.just wait for the doctor to come back. I'll stay right here with you."  
  
"But, Stephanie, I need to talk to her---"  
  
"I said shhhhh.." The last thing she needed was for Hunter to start calling for Stephanie, and for Stephanie to hear.  
  
Stephanie leaned against the door, crying for the thousandth time this week. When she'd heard the nurses talking on her mother's floor about the gorgeous guy who was down on 5th, for some reason, she'd felt scared so she'd asked what was going on, and had quickly deduced it was her husband. She'd told Shane to stay with their mother and ran for an elevator. Shane had run after her, but the elevator doors had shut in his face. She'd been so scared all the way here, so frightened something had happened to him.and then she'd seen him. Alive. Apparently well. At least well enough to be kissing that witch Stacy.kissing Stacy the way he'd once kissed her, with all the fire and passion and life that was in his soul.  
  
She hated him. She hated her. She hated them both.and they would be so sorry. He knew what she was going through, how could he be so callous? He was a bastard, and she hated him, hated him because he was a jerk and she loved him still so much that this hurt so badly. Stephanie jumped when someone turned her around, but it was only Shane.  
  
"What the hell were you doing, running off like that?" he yelled at her. "Don't you get how dangerous this is?"  
  
"Don't worry. I won't do it again. Never again." But they were talking about two entirely different things. "Let's go back to mom.there's nothing here for me anymore." Thoroughly bewildered and confused, Shane followed his sister to the elevator and they went back up to their mother's floor wordlessly. 


	19. Chapter Nineteen

"Stacy, you don't understand. I really need to talk with Stephanie.." Hunter trailed off. "Am in the hospital?" he asked abruptly, looking down at his hospital gown.  
  
"Yeah.don't you remember what happened?" Stacy asked.  
  
"No, no.I don't remember anything. Why am I here?" Hunter rubbed his head gingerly.  
  
"Here, have some water." Stacy said sweetly, handing him a cup. She somehow managed to hide her smile. She was going to come out of this looking like Hunter's guardian angel if she played this right. "Well, I found you unconscious on the floor, and I was just terrified that you were seriously injured and I went and called 911." She briefly explained, wanting to sound as modest as possible.  
  
"Unconscious from what?"  
  
"You really don't know?"  
  
"Would I be asking if I did know?"  
  
"I didn't see anything for certain, of course..but I did see Vince leaving the area in a real big hurry." Stacy lied. She had quickly thought up this little plot.if Hunter thought Vince had hit him from behind, he would probably blame Stephanie for setting Vince on him, and that would keep them even further apart. Stacy gave herself a little mental pat on the back.  
  
"Vince? Why would Vince be there?"  
  
"Well, I'm not saying he did it, of course not, that would be so horrible..but he does hate you, just like Stephanie does. I mean, she thinks we're having an affair and of course she's jealous and hurt.and Vince hates it when his precious little girl is hurting." Stacy trailed off, letting him fill in the blanks on his own.  
  
But Hunter just looked up at Stacy, anger beginning to show in his eyes. "Get out." He said shortly.  
  
"What?" Stacy asked, stunned.  
  
"I said. Get. Out!" Hunter enunciated, his voice growing louder, so that it was almost a shout.  
  
"But-but why?" Stacy sputtered. She hadn't even been able to get to the conversation she'd had with the man on the phone, or the gunshot. She knew Hunter would definitely want to know about what had happened.  
  
"Because you're a freaking liar, that's why! You're lying to me now and that makes me wonder what else you've been lying about."  
  
"What? What am I lying about?" Stacy asked. How could he possibly know so quickly?  
  
"You obviously haven't heard this yet, or you wouldn't have made up such a stupid lie, but Linda, Vince's wife was admitted to the hospital only a few hours ago. There's no way that Vince would have left her. And even if he would leave her, there's no reason for him to come and attack me! What the hell kind of game are you trying to play with me, Stacy?"  
  
"I'm not playing any game, Hunter, I swear. Maybe it wasn't Vince I saw, maybe." Stacy tried desperately to back-pedal.  
  
But Hunter wasn't having any of it. "How stupid do you think I am? I'm not blind, you know. I know you want me."  
  
"I-I haven't any idea what you're talking about you arrogant-"  
  
"Resorting to name-calling now? Don't deny it, it only makes you look like a ditz. You are not a ditz, Stacy, far from it. Do you think I don't notice the way you look at me? You look at me like I'm dinner and you're the freaking spoon. And I'm sorry, but I'm one dinner you're never going to get a taste of.so if you want anything from me beyond friendship, it's not going to happen."  
  
Stacy was speechless for all of a second and then she slapped him, ironically on the same cheek Stephanie had slapped him earlier that day. He just was sucking with women these days. "And what was that for?" He asked dryly.  
  
"You led me on, you bastard!" Stacy cried.  
  
"What? I did not!" Hunter objected.  
  
"You totally did! Don't you dare look at me like that, like I'm something that crawled out from underneath a rock! You want me too, I know you do!"  
  
Hunter looked at Stacy, genuinely thrown-aback. "Look, if I've led you to believe that I had those kind of feelings for you, I'm sorry-"  
  
" 'Led me to believe?' Of course you did, you moron! The way you look at me, the way you kiss me.you want me, I know you do!" Stacy said again, tears beginning to well in her eyes.  
  
Hunter cringed in the bed. God, when her voice went all high like that it reminded him of Stephanie in one of her tirades. He closed his eyes, the lights in this room were really bright and he was getting a pounding headache in addition to the extraordinarily cold, numb feeling all down his back. "Stacy, I have done nothing to lead you to believe that our relationship would ever be anything..very personal. I've been up-front with you from the beginning. And those so-called kisses? The first one was in order to make my wife hate me enough to sign divorce papers in a plot that I explained to you from the very beginning, and the second kiss I thought you were someone else. So if that's what you're basing this idea of this grand love affair we could be having on, you can think again." Hunter said, not particularly caring if he was being a bit harsh.  
  
"Hunter, no, don't do this! Don't you see that we would work so well together? We'd be amazing, can't you see that?"  
  
He hated the desperation in her voice, and he was starting to feel a tiny bit guilty, although he didn't know why. He'd been honest with her from the beginning, and not once had he told her anything he hadn't meant.it was her own damn fault for letting herself get in too deep! "No. I don't see that actually." He said matter-of -factly.  
  
"But-but this isn't fair, you're not even giving me a chance to show you! Just give me a fair chance, and I promise, you won't be sorry." Stacy pleaded, reaching for Hunter's arm.  
  
"I don't know how much clearer I can make this, Stacy, but I'm gonna try. I'm not, nor will I ever be interested in pursuing that kind of relationship with you. I'm not attracted to you that way.and I won't ever be." Hunter told her gently, his eyes sympathetic. She looked so sad, he didn't want to hurt the girl.he just hadn't expected that she had felt this deeply about him, he'd thought this was just some kind of crush, or he was just another notch on her bedpost. But it actually looked like there were feelings involved here beyond mere physical ones. "I'm sorry, I truly am, if I've done anything to make you think differently." The apology was genuine.  
  
Stacy wiped off her tears angrily. "It's her, isn't it? That bitch Stephanie? Well, let me tell you that you are not the man I thought you were if you go crawling back to her!" Stacy said, angrily ripping her hand off of his arm.  
  
Hunter bit the inside of his cheek. He decided to let her lash out, it might make her feel better.  
  
"You aren't even denying it! You want her back, don't you?" She whispered in disbelief.  
  
Hunter looked back at her. "Yes." He admitted finally, to both her and himself. "I want her back more than anything I've ever wanted in my life." He answered softly.  
  
For the first time in her life, Stacy wished she were a different person.the person who made Hunter's eyes soften like that. She wished that just once, he'd look at her the way he looked at Stephanie. She'd thought she would be able to make that happen, thought she'd be able to win Hunter, make him hers.before she'd met Hunter, she'd never met a man who hadn't immediately fallen for her. And didn't it figure, the one man she had fallen for, the one man she actually wanted didn't want her back? Instead he wanted some whiny, snotty, pampered billionaire bitch. No. No way in hell was Stephanie winning this. She might not be able to change Hunter's feelings toward Stephanie, but she sure as hell could change Stephanie's feelings toward him. Stephanie came off as the ultimate secure woman, the confident, powerful aura firmly in place. But Stacy knew how to exploit women's weaknesses.she'd made a living on it. And Stephanie would be no different, she had her vulnerabilities. If Stacy couldn't have this man, she'd make damn sure no other woman, especially not Stephanie McMahon would have him either.  
  
Stacy swallowed and forced herself to stand up straighter. "No, I should be the one who's apologizing, Hunter. I thought that maybe you might return my feelings some day, but I see that that was wrong of me to expect that. I wish you all the best with.Stephanie." She choked out the bitter words.  
  
Hunter smiled gratefully. "I'm glad you understand, Stacy. You're a class act, you know that?"  
  
Stacy nodded, biting her inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted the copper taste of blood in her mouth. "I'm just going to leave you to rest, okay?" She told him. She had to get out of here before she completely blew her composure.  
  
"Thanks.and when you're up to it, could you maybe give me a call and tell me exactly what happened this afternoon? It's important that I know."  
  
"Yeah, I'll make sure to do that." Stacy bit out, already heading for the door.  
  
Hunter lay back on his pillow. Well, that had royally sucked. That was officially his worst break up.ever. With the exception of Steph, of course, but she couldn't be counted-that was more apocalyptic than anything. It wasn't even technically a break-up, since he and Stacy had never even been together in the first place, but it still had felt like one. But then he smiled. Now, there was nothing standing in between him and Steph. He'd tell her he found out the truth about the baby, she'd admit it of course, and he'd somehow convince her to remarry him. They'd sort out this whole stalker mess, and then they'd take some time away, just for themselves. After all, when the baby came, they wouldn't be able to get away as much, now would they? That dream he'd had when he had been knocked out, it wasn't like it could be prophetic or anything because he was going to fix this marriage. The Dream Stephanie had told him to follow his heart, and as corny advice went, he thought it topped the list, but at the same time, he hadn't felt this good in a long time. Which was ridiculous because he was hurting really badly.whoever had hit him had done one hell of a number on his back, he winced. But Stephanie was in the same hospital, he'd call her and she'd come see him as soon as she found out about her mother's condition. Maybe they could move him to the same floor so he could keep an eye on her and she wouldn't have to go from floor to floor to see them both. The thought immediately lifted his mood. He tried to lean over to the phone and felt ever muscle in his back seizure and went back to his original position, choosing instead to ring a nurse.  
  
The door opened. "Susan?" He asked brightly. "Long time, no see!"  
  
"As soon as I saw your name, I made sure I was assigned to you.how are you doing? Lot of pain?" Susan asked sympathetically.  
  
"Nothing I can't handle. Hey, Susan. Could I just have the phone? I need to call someone."  
  
"No problem. You want me to dial?"  
  
"Yeah, that'd be great!" He told her the number and she dialed, handing him the phone.  
  
"I'll leave you to your call, then." Susan whispered and he nodded gratefully.  
  
The phone started to ring and Hunter listened for Stephanie's voice in anticipation.  
  
  
  
Stacy pushed the elevator buttons hard. She was shaking, angry, confused, pissed off and depressed. She looked down at the floor, wanting nothing more at this moment than to go catch a taxi, after all, she'd left her car at the gym because she'd gone in the ambulance with Hunter to the hospital, then go back to her hotel room and order some mint chocolate chip ice cream and a nice, hot bubble bath. She pushed her hair away from her face, tried to wipe away the tears.her mascara was running.the elevator dinged and she walked out, and immediately slipped on the floor, sending her sprawling on her back. A few people gasped horrified. A man's hand reached out, lifted her hand, asked if she was allright. "No. No, I'm not allright." She cried, re-opening her eyes to see none other than Shane McMahon himself. She refused to let anyone in this family see her cry so she simply stayed still, willing herself to stop shaking. "Let's get her in an examination room." An authoritative voice said. Must be a doctor, Stacy figured, but she didn't especially care.  
  
"I'll carry her." Shane volunteered.  
  
"No! Don't touch me! I can get up myself!" And with every bit of will she possessed she gritted her teeth and stood. The humiliation of it all.  
  
"I'd still like to examine you." The damn doctor again.  
  
"I'm sure you would, but it's not going to happen. I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry, I know all that you're worried about is that I'm going to sue the hospital, and I'm not going to.these legs are insured for over a million dollars, they're fine, so you can just be on your way." She said bitterly.  
  
"I can believe it." The doctor murmured, talking about her legs, of course. But he walked away, not wanting to get anywhere near any mention of a lawsuit.  
  
Everyone cleared.at least, everyone but Shane who was still looking at her, concerned. "Are you sure you're really fine? You don't look it." He said doubtfully.  
  
"I'm-I just want to go home." Stacy cringed at her voice, she sounded like a little girl who'd skinned her knee.  
  
"Yeah, okay.Do you have your car here?" When she shook her head no, Shane continued "I'm going to take you home, okay? I just have to go make sure someone's with my sister first, yeah?" Stacy didn't respond so Shane decided to take it as a yes. He swung open the door to his mother's room where he and Steph had finally been able to enter only a few minutes ago. He tapped his sister on her shoulder, she was standing with their father, holding her mother's hand.  
  
"Steph? I need to leave for a little bit. Can you make sure that you don't leave this room?" Stephanie nodded tiredly.  
  
"Make sure you don't leave though." Shane pressed his sister. She just murmured a quick yeah, whatever. Shane looked at his mother's pale face, still unconscious and shook his head. At least now he was finally doing something helpful to someone by driving Stacy home. She was still standing in the same spot he'd left her in.  
  
"Trying to grow roots?" Stacy didn't respond to his attempt at levity. "Okay, then."He sighed. He said, placing his arm awkwardly around her thin back, and walked her out to his car.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Stacy asked quietly once she was buckled in.  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"Being so nice to me.you don't have to drive me home you know."  
  
"You look like you could use someone being nice to you. I wanted to help you out, and if driving you home helps you, it's pretty easy." Shane replied.  
  
"That's all? What do you want in return for your 'being nice'?" Stacy asked bitterly, causing Shane to look at her sideways.  
  
"I don't know what you mean."  
  
"Sure you do. Men like you, they don't do favors for women like me just for the hell of it. So what is it that you want in return?"  
  
Man, this chick had serious issues. Shane wasn't sure how to respond to this line of questioning. All he'd wanted was to get away from the damn hospital for a minute and to help out a woman who obviously needed some help.  
  
"You're Vince McMahon's son. Don't try and tell me that you're just a nice guy by nature."  
  
Shane gripped the steering wheel tightly. The one thing he hated most in the world was when people made judgments on him based on his father. It wasn't fair, and he was sick to death of it.  
  
"You know what? Fuck you. In case you haven't noticed, I am not my father. I am nothing like my father.I may have his blood running through my veins but I am not even remotely like him in character, and it sickens me when people like you make false assumptions about me even though you don't have even the slightest clue what kind of a man I really am." Shane seethed, aware he was rambling.  
  
Stacy responded to his offended tone with one of her own: "People like me? What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"It means people who are constantly making judgments on people without knowing what they're talking about."  
  
"Oh, believe me, I know exactly what I'm talking about Shane O'Mac." She said mockingly.  
  
"You sound like you don't know a damn thing. So you know what? You can just save the head trip, I don't need it. I have enough crap to deal with without taking on yours."  
  
Stacy was silent for a second. "I'm sorry." She said it so faintly he wasn't certain she had actually said it.  
  
"You're right.people make assumptions. I've always hated it when people do it to me, it's not fair that I do it to you. You're doing me a favor, I'm thanking you, let's just leave it there, okay?"  
  
"Sounds like a deal. Is this the right entrance?" Shane asked, still somewhat angry, as he was pulling up alongside the hotel.  
  
"Yeah. I-Thanks for the ride." Stacy said, impulsively reaching over and kissing him softly on the cheek. Her hair brushed his cheek and he caught the smell of coconuts.  
  
Shane started, looked at her for a moment. He then arched his eyebrow evilly and said in his best smarmy voice, "Anytime, baby." He winked hugely, obnoxiously, looking so ridiculously lecherous he managed to startle Stacy into a giggle.  
  
"Yeah, you better watch it, I might take you up on that, Mr. McMahon." With that, Stacy shut the door behind her and walked up to the hotel's revolving door. Shane watched her leave in appreciation.  
  
"Yeah, I hope you do take me up on it." He said aloud. He pulled the car into gear and headed back to the hospital.  
  
Stephanie's cell phone was vibrating for the eighth time in ten minutes. Frowning, she finally pulled it out of her side pocket and walked over to a corner. Luckily, she was in a part of the hospital that allowed cell phones. She didn't recognize the number. "Stephanie McMahon." She said dully.  
  
"Hey Steph, it's me.I have something to tell you. You'll never believe where I am." Hunter said.  
  
Stephanie froze. " Actually, I'm sure I would. And I have something to tell you too." She said slowly. 


	20. Chapter Twenty

"Well, what I have to say can't wait. I've waited too damn long as it is. Listen, I don't want you to freak out or anything, but I'm in the hospital- as a patient, and I'm only a floor away from you. Can you come see me?" Hunter asked Stephanie.  
  
"Hunter, I-"  
  
"I'm in Room-umm. 342? Yeah, that looks right. Can you tell me whatever it was that you were going to tell me up here? I really need to see you."  
  
Oh, this was too much for her to take. He sounded so earnest, so innocent...but she knew better now, didn't she? He had told Stacy he was in love with her. It was bad enough they'd slept together, but she just couldn't deal with the fact that he'd actually been able to say those words to that woman. To any woman but her. Stephanie ground her teeth together. "You know what? No, I'm not coming. For the longest time you've been saying that all you want from me is for me to leave you alone. Well, guess what, you jerk, you're getting that wish! From now on, I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to see you, I don't want you near me. You called me a manipulative liar? Well, baby, I'm nothing, nothing compared to you!" Stephanie hung up the phone viciously.  
  
On the other half of the newly disconnected line, Hunter stared down at the receiver in disbelief. What the--? He threw the phone across the room and pushed the nurse's call button. Susan came in a minute later.  
  
"Susan? I need another favor. Can you get me out of here?" Hunter asked curtly.  
  
"Of course, in a few days, you should be well enough to walk-"  
  
"No! I mean now, right now. I need to get out of here."  
  
"I'm sorry but that just isn't possible. You're in no condition to walk anywhere. I doubt you even could."  
  
"Yeah? Watch me." Hunter threw off the blankets and swung his legs to the floor.  
  
"Oh what the-" he cursed loudly. He couldn't even sit up, he fell backward. But a second later, he gripped the side of the bed and pushing himself against the wall, he managed to stand, despite Susan's horrified gasping and objections. Hunter gritted his teeth, but he'd survived worse pain than this..he'd survive this.  
  
"No, no! You're going to kill yourself. Lay back down, I mean it, really!" Susan yelled.  
  
"I'm not sitting back down, it took too much energy just to stand up. Now, look, I only need to go up one floor. Will you help me walk up there? I just need something to lean on." Hunter looked at Susan with his best pleading look, which wasn't hard because he felt like he was going to pass out.  
  
Susan raised a hand to her mouth, horrified. "No, absolutely not. I'm getting orderlies to help you back in the bed."  
  
"Look, unless you intend to strap me down to the damn bed, I'm just going to keep on getting back up. I just need to go talk to someone on the next floor, and when I'm done, I promise, I'll come right back here.I won't even move! Susan? Come on, what do you say?"  
  
"Only one floor?" Susan said doubtfully.  
  
"One little floor, that's it."  
  
"Fine." Susan sighed reluctantly. "But you're going in a wheelchair. No arguments, or I will just strap you down to the bed."  
  
"Why, Susan, I had no idea you were that kind of girl." Hunter said, smiling, relieved.  
  
"You're incorrigible, you know that?"  
  
"No, I'm cute and cuddly..that's why everyone loves me." Hunter quipped, his good spirits returning a tiny bit.  
  
Susan laughed and went out for the wheelchair. Hunter eased himself along the wall toward the door. She came back in quickly, and he was only too happy to collapse in the chair.  
  
"Ooh, feeling a bit of a draft there, Mr. Helmsley?"  
  
Hunter ran his hand through his hair. It was useless to reach behind him to try and close the gown. Could this damn day get any better?  
  
"Want a robe?" Susan offered.  
  
"No.I've got nothing to be ashamed about.I've been told I've got a cute ass, too." He'd always refused to get embarrassed about stupid situations, and he was glad that was a personality trait of his.  
  
"That you do.oh, man, I'm going to get fired if I say things like that. I'm getting the robe, I don't want our poor nurses tripping over themselves. You're a very dangerous man."  
  
"Yeah, I'm lookin' real sexy in my hospital gown."  
  
"You carry it off well. And how many men can say that?" Susan teased as she eased the robe around his shoulders, helping him sit up a bit to slip it on.  
  
"Well, now that I look like a complete idiot, can we get going?" Hunter asked impatiently.  
  
"Where exactly are we going?" Susan asked as she wheeled him toward the elevator.  
  
"Up one floor, Room 235."  
  
"And who's up there?"  
  
"My ex-wife and her family."  
  
"Oh.I see."  
  
"It's.a long story, and it's very complicated. But I really need to talk to her."  
  
"Yeah, I've gathered that." She pushed him out of the elevator and as they passed a gift shop, Hunter asked her to stop inside.  
  
"We had a deal, Mr. Helmsley." Susan said firmly.  
  
"I know.but really, it would help me out. Just one second allright?"  
  
He was too gorgeous to say no to. Susan just knew she was going to get fired if the head nurse found out about this. She wheeled him in nonetheless. As he passed the "Congratulations! It's a Boy!" Teddy Bears and storks, Hunter felt himself grinning like a moron. Only six months, and he'd be wallowing in them, he couldn't wait.  
  
Stephanie had been so irate on the phone, though.he wondered what the hell was going on. She sounded seriously angry with him, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. But whatever it was, he was determined to get to the bottom of it.  
  
"Susan? This is kind of embarrassing, but I don't have any money on me, obviously. I'm good for it though.could you buy that bouquet of flowers?" he asked, pointing.  
  
"They're beautiful..but can I ask why not that great bouquet of roses?"  
  
"She wouldn't appreciate roses right now..another long story." He sighed.  
  
"Yeah, fine..we'll get the flowers, you can pay me back later."  
  
"You are the coolest nurse ever, you know that Susan?"  
  
"You mean the easiest to work over."  
  
"No, you're great. Really." He said appreciatively as the clerk handed him the huge bouquet.  
  
"Room 235 you said, right?" Susan asked as they departed the gift shop.  
  
"Yep. There it is, right there. If you could just knock on the door, have the woman who's in there come out?"  
  
Susan peered through the window. "But isn't that your best friend's girlfriend? Stephanie?" She asked confused.  
  
Damn, he'd forgotten all about that little lie. "Uh-yeah.she started dating him after she married me." He tried.  
  
Susan shook her head at him. "You are such a liar."  
  
"Does that mean you're not going in there?"  
  
"No, I'll go, you look too pitiful sitting there in your little hospital gown and your flowers.she's a lucky woman."  
  
"From your lips to her ears, Susan. I keep telling her that but she just doesn't seem to be buying." Susan entered the room quietly and escorted a very confused Stephanie out.  
  
When Stephanie saw Hunter in the hallway every impulse she possessed in her body ached for her to close the few feet between him, but she forced herself to stay still. Stephanie longed to feel him over, make certain that he was really allright, ask him what the hell had happened in the first place.she still didn't even know how he'd ended up here! It was probably that he got into a fight or something. He looked like he was in so much pain..his forehead was all wrinkled up..she loved it when his forehead did that..and he'd brought flowers.  
  
See? He's trying to make things up to you.he's trying to say he's sorry for sleeping with Stacy.  
  
  
  
He is not. He's just trying to snowball you with that damn little grin he does. He gets you a stupid bouquet, and what, you're just supposed to melt at his feet? Forget that he slept with another woman?  
  
  
  
Yeah, you are supposed to just forget that.it doesn't even matter. You still love the jerk.  
  
  
  
No, it's just that you THINK you love him...he's done everything possible to make you hate him, and this time, damn it girl, just let him win. Grow your spine back!  
  
  
  
But you can't just give up on this.you love him, you LOVE him, he's your husband and who the hell are you kidding-you want to jump his bones right this very second, not to mention one tiny, little thing..you're having his baby!  
  
  
  
You can totally give up..let that bitch Stacy have him, they deserve each other.you can do so much better.  
  
  
  
No, you really can't..it doesn't really get much better than this man right in front of you, and deep down, you know that.  
  
  
  
He said he was in love with her! He said he loved Stacy!  
  
  
  
Stephanie waited for the other voice to argue back, but it seemed the second voice had finally triumphed. Stephanie stood stiffly, her arms crossed.  
  
"You're really going to make me work for this, huh?" Hunter asked.  
  
"I told you on the phone I didn't want to see you, and what's the first thing you do? You're sick, Hunter. Just go, go away and leave me the hell alone."  
  
"Why? What happened? What's wrong?"  
  
"Like you even have to ask!"  
  
"Yeah, actually I do, damn it! I'm here in the hospital, you haven't even bothered to ask me why, I haul myself out of the bed, get up here and you're acting like this?"  
  
"Ask yourself why, Hunter. Think back a bit, I'm sure it will come back to you!"  
  
"I haven't done anything wrong! And if you think that I have then you had better damn well come right out and say so because I'm getting tired of all of your tantrums."  
  
"Tantrums? Tantrums?! I'll show you a tantrum, you jerk!" Stephanie yelled. " This is a tantrum!" And with that Stephanie pulled the bouquet from Hunter's hands and whacked it against the wall, she pulled his wheelchair around and gave it a shove, sending Hunter down careening down the hallway. Susan gasped and ran after Hunter, managing to stop the chair and he furiously wheeled himself around to face Stephanie. "You are such a-to think that I was actually going to tell you that I lo-Go to hell, Stephanie! I am so damn glad you're not my problem anymore! And just so you know, whenever you get your freaking act together and actually know what you're talking about, don't come back to me, saying your sorry.because I am finished! I'm done, we're done, it's done, and I am happier than words can express!" Hunter threw the wheelchair into gear and shoved himself in the general vicinity of the elevator. As they went down, Susan gave Stephanie a confused glare. Hunter looked up at the ceiling helplessly. He didn't have a clue what had just happened, and there were only three things in the world that he knew at this moment:  
  
His back was hurting so badly he felt like asking for some tranqs and to be woken up when the pain was finally over..Stephanie was the most infuriating, irritating woman he'd ever met in his entire life, she made him want to scream, he hated her..and he loved her, and their baby more than he'd ever loved anything in his life.  
  
Hunter sat still as Susan wheeled him to his room. There were days when it just didn't pay to get out of the bed. He'd figure this damn thing out if it killed him. Which it just might.  
  
As soon as the elevator doors dinged shut Stephanie felt the tears start to crawl down her face. She knelt to the floor and carefully picked up the remnants of the bouquet and inhaled the gorgeous aroma reverently. She couldn't remember a time in her entire life when she'd been more confused than she was right now. She'd been watching Hunter's expression so carefully throughout the past few minutes, and she could swear that he had genuinely looked like he really hadn't known what she was talking about. But how could he not? He was such a good liar, she hated that he could lie to her any time he damn well pleased and there was no real way for her to know what was the truth anymore. There was no way this could all be a misunderstanding, right? Right? She asked the two dueling voices.  
  
But strangely enough, neither one of them seemed to want to offer an opinion on the matter. 


	21. Chapter TwentyOne

Linda McMahon's Hospital Room in New York City  
  
"..But wherefore do not you a mightier way, Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time? And fortify yourself in your decay With means more blessed than my barren rhyme? Now stand you on the top of happy hours, And many maiden gardens yet unset.." Stephanie turned the page of the book of Shakespeare's sonnets, even as she aimed the remote toward the CD Player and changed the song to some Brahms. Her mother loved Shakespeare, usually Stephanie did as well, but too many of the sonnets were making her think of Hunter, a man who wouldn't be caught dead reading Shakespeare. Go figure. Stephanie set down the book for a moment, stood up and walked over to the window. Her back was killing her so she stretched out her arms. She shuffled over to the water pitcher and poured herself a glass so she could take her prenatal vitamin. These days, she couldn't stand to drink anything that she hadn't opened herself, unless it was water.which was probably a good thing. It made her feel safer. She had convinced her father to go home, get some rest.he hadn't left her mother's side since she'd been admitted. Stephanie looked down at the bed as she studied her mother's face. She somehow couldn't quite get used to the fact her mother wasn't wearing any makeup.she couldn't even remember the last time that her mother had ever even stepped out not looking anything less than picture-perfect. Stephanie settled back into her chair, reading aloud once again. She knew that there were studies out there that said music and voices of loved ones help those in comas; she wasn't sure if she believed in them, but it had been over a week since her mother had been admitted to the hospital and she was willing to try anything. "..With virtuous wish would bear your living flowers, Much liker than your painted counterfeit: So should the lines of life that life repair, Which this, Time's pencil, or my pupil pen, Neither in inward worth nor outward fair, Can make you live yourself in eyes of men. To give away yourself keeps yourself still, And you must live, drawn by your own sweet skill.....Mom, please wake up. I need you." Stephanie said sadly as she finished the sonnet.  
  
Gym in Houston, Texas  
  
Hunter was just glad to be out of the hospital. He'd been released three days ago. The first day, he'd decided to stick around New York so he could go talk to Steph again. The second day he'd decided that he didn't feel like waiting for handouts from her table, he had heard from his detectives who said that the guards she had just hired had checked out, he'd called Steph at the hospital, she'd hung up on him, then he'd gotten a call that he was now fighting in a match against Jericho-for the damn title, no less, only a few days after he'd been beaten with a sledgehammer in the back, he'd gotten ticked off, booked his flight for Houston and said sayonara to New York. He'd slept the day away, or at least he'd tried to, basically he'd tossed and turned the day away, in the hotel, then decided he needed to get back in training.  
  
"Allright, Hunter, one more...that's it. Man, you're a machine." Kevin Nash said, impressed as Hunter finished his final lift on the weights. "You're the toughest s.o.b. I ever met, you know that?" Kevin laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I have to be.helps keep the mind off of things I don't really want to begin thinking about, you know? You want to go get something to eat, man?" Hunter said abruptly.  
  
"You buying?"  
  
"Yeah..actually, when's the last time you've ever bought lunch? Have you ever?" Hunter joked.  
  
"Are you callin' me a cheapskate?" Nash said, his frugality was a running joke between the two, had been forever.  
  
"Well, since I don't think I've seen you buy anything in all the years I've known you, I'm thinking yeah."  
  
"Watch out.you got a match tomorrow night, man.nWo is going to be all over you after Jericho's had his way with you." Nash threatened, throwing his arm over Hunter's shoulder.  
  
"Oh, dang, the nWo's after me...I am positively shaking!" Hunter choked out, laughing, knowing full well nWo was one problem he didn't have to worry about, unlike the rest of the WWF Superstars. It was kinda nice having dangerous friends in soon-to-be dangerously high places. But it still didn't mean he wasn't watching his own back, it wasn't like he could count on anyone to watch it for him anymore.  
  
"You know, man, one of these days you're going to see the light and get in with us, Hunter."  
  
Knowing his friend was completely serious now, Hunter treated the question as such. "No man... I'm best solo, you know that."  
  
"Like hell." Nash snorted. "D-Generation X? Remember that?"  
  
"Yeah, and look how that all turned out. Like I said man, solo, that's what works for me."  
  
"I can respect that, but.....the door's open, you know that. All you've gotta do is walk in."  
  
"It's appreciated.....but I don't see myself strolling on through anytime soon." Hunter said carefully.  
  
"Hey, stuff changes. Things happen...just keep it in the back of your head, deal?"  
  
"Deal." And as far as Hunter was concerned, it was. nWo wasn't exactly something you forgot about.  
  
"Good. Now where are you takin' me for lunch? Watching you work out has made me tired." Kevin laughed, his huge frame shaking.  
  
"I should just take you to Taco Bell, you cheapskate."  
  
"I prefer to call it "money-wise." Kevin said haughtily.  
  
"I'm sure you would, but technically, what it really means is that you're a cheapskate."  
  
"Hey, I'm up for Taco Bell, Hunter."  
  
"I'm not putting that crap into my body...we're going to Bea's." Hunter said, naming their favorite Houston diner...Houston, where Raw would be taking place tomorrow night.  
  
"Yeah! Ribs, beer, some potatoes...." Nash said eagerly.  
  
"Apple pie!" They said in unison. Bea's was famous the world over for her pies. They climbed in Hunter's limo. "Chad, we're going to Bea's...you comin' in?" he asked his driver.  
  
"Do you have to ask? Apple pie, I'm there." Nash burst out laughing, and Hunter did too. It felt good to laugh again...be with good friends, go out, have some good times, life was getting better. He had made up his mind not to worry about Stephanie, at least for a couple of weeks he was going to try not to think about her at all. She had hired a group of bodyguards, and without telling her of course, he'd hired a couple of detectives to check them all out. They had found nothing wrong with the guys, so Hunter had decided to entrust his life to them, at least for a little while until he had had a chance to think through things properly. With Stephanie acting the way she was, he couldn't trust himself around her....he might do something he'd regret. Any other person, he had perfect control of his words and actions but Stephanie had this way of getting under his skin, no matter how hard he fought for control.  
  
He had a match coming up against Jericho for the title...no way in hell was he losing this title. It was all he really had left that mattered after all. So he was going to pretend she didn't even exist, he was going to focus on his work. Then, when these two weeks were up, he knew he was going to have to start thinking about her again, she was having his kid after all. But two weeks, Stephanie-free was just the thing to help his head get screwed on straight. He hoped.  
  
"Are we going out tonight?" Nash was asking. "Or are you going to mope around your hotel for another night?"  
  
"I don't mope." Hunter said defensively.  
  
"No....you just brood menacingly." Nash allowed.  
  
"Whatever, man."  
  
"You aren't denying it, are you? Trust me, this is what you need. Night out, not thinking about....you know, stuff, meeting some fine looking Houston women. Plus, Shawn said if I can get you out of the hotel, he'll come out with us."  
  
Hunter's first instinct was to say no...all he really wanted was some damn sleep...but he knew that wasn't going to be happening tonight. Since he'd gotten out of the hospital and off the painkillers, the dreams had started returning again...he hadn't slept at all since the hospital. So maybe some partying was in order...push his body so hard, it had no choice but to exhaust itself and finally sleep. "Sounds like a plan." He consented.  
  
Nash looked over at his friend, delighted. But his smile diminished when he saw Hunter's expression. He looked like he was on a death march. Well, he'd just have to change Hunter's mind, now wouldn't he? He and Shawn would show Hunter again there was life after Stephanie, and it could be just like old times-carefree, wild, crazy and best of all: wife-free.  
  
  
  
Back in New York  
  
  
  
Stacy turned down the volume on her walkman as she slowed her pace. Finally, she was finished with her morning workout. She had a couple of free hours...maybe she'd head for the punching bag in the gym again. Stacy searched through her pocket and pulled out the crumpled photo of Hunter she'd been using that morning. It was badly damaged, she'd been hitting it hard. But it felt very therapeutic, pretending it was actually his face. She swung open the door of the hotel lobby and headed straight for a tray of water on the counter. Mmm, the water was nice and cold. Stacy straightened up and swirled around, walking right into Shane McMahon.  
  
He cursed and rubbed his nose gingerly.  
  
"I am so sorry! I don't know what it is with me but I seem to be crashing into absolutely everyone....is your nose okay?" Stacy asked Shane as she reached up to touch it carefully.  
  
"Yeah, it's fine." Shane smiled. One of his nostrils felt like it had closed, but he didn't especially care. Stacy was wearing tight jogging shorts, an even tighter shirt...looking at her seemed to take the soreness away.  
  
"Yeah? Good...Shane, why are you at my hotel?"  
  
"I was here to see Kurt before he left for Smackdown later this week in New Orleans. I wanted to see if he was going to be in shape for anything after the number Hunter pulled on him."  
  
"He's doing allright, all things considered."  
  
"How do you know that?" Shane asked.  
  
"He told me. I go up to his room all the time, make sure he's got everything he needs, you know, books, CD's, whatever."  
  
"Oh, I hadn't realized..." Why did this bit of information bother him so much? Shane wondered. What did he care if Kurt and Stacy were friends?  
  
"What, that Kurt and I spoke? Yeah, me neither. It's something that just kind of happened. I ran into him a few days ago, he dropped something and he couldn't even bend down to get it, so I helped him out, got him to his room. Ever since then, I check on him. It's no biggie."  
  
"Huh. Yeah. That's really decent of you." Shane said distantly.  
  
"Like I said, no biggie. Kurt's actually kinda fun, once you get talking to him. He has this weird fear about women in general, but I think he likes me too."  
  
"Really? Yeah, I'm just asking 'cause I know he's not a big fan of women either, he's always kind of thought of them as poison."  
  
"I know, he told me."  
  
"He told you?" Shane echoed.  
  
"Yeah, he meant it as a complement, I think. For a while, I've always thought he was a dork, but he's actually not too bad a conversationalist." Plus, he hated Hunter as much as she did....actually, moreso. They'd bonded over that. To her great surprise, they'd actually been having fun, mostly having Bashing Hunter sessions, but it was fun nonetheless.  
  
"Yeah...um, anyway, do you want to go?" Shane motioned outside, still disturbed by the fact Kurt and Stacy were friends.  
  
"Go?" Stacy asked questioningly.  
  
"Oh! Sorry, I meant, you know, to lunch." This conversation sucked so bad!, Shane thought, horrified. He was just knocked off balance by the whole Kurt thing...but it wasn't like he didn't talk to women....jeez! Get it together! He told himself. He inhaled. "I saw you across the lobby on my way out and I thought it might be nice if we went and had lunch together. What do you think?"  
  
Stacy wanted to ask why, but Shane actually looked like he was ready to run for it, and she didn't want him to. "I'd like that." Stacy said slowly. "But I'm all sweaty...could you give me half an hour to go upstairs, shower, change?" She asked hopefully.  
  
"Half an hour? Sure, that's fine. I'll wait down here."  
  
"You can come up to my room, wait there if you want."  
  
Shane felt his eyes widen, but Stacy's face was completely innocent so he knew she hadn't meant it in another way. "No, thanks...I'm just going to catch up on some e-mail on my laptop in the car...just come out whenever you're ready?"  
  
"Fine. I'll be back down soon." Stacy left.  
  
Shane practically danced out to his car, turned off the alarm and turned on his laptop. He froze for a minute when he saw the all too familiar skull and crossbones symbol. He opened up the e-mail, stared at it for a few minutes, too freaked out to move. Shane finally managed to shake it off, threw the computer onto the passenger seat, got out of the car-and promptly threw up outside the door.  
  
People on the street were looking at him curiously, but he pulled out his cell phone and dialed up his sister's head bodyguard, Victor. "Victor? This is Shane McMahon. Is my sister anywhere in hearing range?" When the bodyguard answered no, Shane explained told him about the e-mail he had just opened up.  
  
"It was pictures, all pictures of Stephanie. Like a story of her life.pictures of her when she was a little girl, in dress-up..he's even got a picture of her as the Spelling Bee Champion when she was in the 7th grade! There's pictures of her at the prom, in college, when she first started working in the WWF..her and Andrew, her and Kurt..her and Hunter! He's got pictures of them from months ago, my sister and my brother in-law- together, so it must have been months ago! They're dancing, they're having..how the hell could he have gotten these kinds of pictures? He's been watching them for months! He's been planning all of this for a while, just laying in wait..and at the top it says 'The Life and Death of the Daddy's Dead Princess".and then at the end.." Shane choked off, the sick feeling coming back again. But Victor pressed him to go on.  
  
"At the end, there's some kind of digitally made photo..it's my sister..with her throat.cut..there's blood everywhere. My God.this guy wants my sister dead." Shane said disbelievingly. "I'm coming there, don't tell her about this until I get there, okay? And so help me God, do not let her out of your sight!" Shane got back in the car and peeled off. He opened up the computer again, even as he drove and selected the "Forward" button. There was another man who needed to see this: His brother-in-law.  
  
"Shane, wait! Where are you?---" Stacy screamed, running for a second after him, seeing the car veer off. She looked down at herself.she hadn't even taken a half an hour, it was twenty minutes, tops, and she had been proud of the effect. "Damn it!" She muttered, turning back around to head back to her room. Men sucked! Couldn't live with them.couldn't kill them without ending up in some women's prison somewhere.  
  
"Hey, Stace." Kurt greeted her..she had almost walked past him without seeing him.  
  
"What are you doing out here?" Stacy asked, surprised.  
  
"I am getting up from the bed.see? I can even turn around." Kurt smiled, joked. "So what are you doing, all dressed up like that?"  
  
"Actually, I was just going to go up to your room and see if you wanted to come out with me to lunch." Stacy lied.  
  
"Yeah? Well, sure, okay. I don't have any plans for the rest of the afternoon."  
  
"Now you do. Let's go!" Maybe this afternoon wouldn't be a total waste after all, Stacy thought, as she took Kurt's arm.  
  
  
  
"..So are you to my thoughts as food to life, Or as sweet-season'd showers are to the ground; And for the peace of you I hold such strife, As 'twixt a miser and his wealth is found;.." Stephanie broke off for a moment. "Mom?" She whispered. She could have sworn her mother had just blinked. Stephanie peered closer and.her mother's eyes opened! "Ahhh!" Stephanie gasped, pulling away. She leaned in again immediately. "Mom? Mom? Are you waking up? Can you hear me? Mom, it's me, it's Stephanie.if you can hear me, squeeze my hand?"  
  
Linda squeezed Stephanie's hand. "Yes! Allright, Mom! I'm getting the doctor!" Stephanie laughed, ran out into the hall and called for a doctor to come in.  
  
"Mom, welcome back!" She watched as her mother's eyes fluttered, opened, saw the awareness come back. Stephanie smiled as she reached down to hug Linda carefully around all of the machines. Stephanie giggled as she felt her mother hesitantly embrace her back.  
  
Finally, some good news for a change. Things were definitely looking up. The door swung open, and Stephanie turned to greet the doctor. But it was someone even better than the doctor, it was Shane. 


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo

"Hey, bro.look who's awake!"  
  
"Mom?" Shane asked stunned. "Hey!" He too hugged Linda. "I'm so happy to see you." Linda rasped, her voice barely a whisper. He turned to Stephanie, who was beaming. "Isn't this the best news?" She cried, hugging her brother. He nodded and Stephanie got out of the doctor's way when he came striding in. "How's our mother?" Shane asked anxiously.  
  
"Well, we're going to run some tests. But I will say that her waking up is an incredibly positive sign. I'll be back shortly." But he paused in front of Stephanie, and Shane for a moment got paranoid and moved to pull the doctor away from his sister. Luckily, he stopped himself just in time to prevent looking like a complete idiot and clenched his fists. "A good deal of the credit goes to you, Mrs. McMahon..your dedication, your time has been inspiring. You've been in here every day, reading, playing music, talking. It's helped, I'm certain." He turned to Linda. "Mrs. McMahon, you have a wonderful daughter." With that hanging in the air, he exited.  
  
"I'm gonna go call Dad." Shane said, leaving behind the doctor. Then he reopened the door and said shortly "Don't go anywhere, okay? I mean it, Steffy."  
  
Stephanie stared at the door, wondering why he had said that, but she shrugged it off. "As if I would go anywhere!" She smiled at her mother. Linda groaned softly and touched her lips.  
  
"Oh! You must be thirsty! I'll get you some water." Stephanie said as she hurried to the pitcher. "Here, mom." She said, as she lifted the cup to Linda's lips. "Any better?"  
  
"Much. Thank you, darling."  
  
"You're welcome, mom. I'm just glad you're back."  
  
"Hmmm." Linda sighed. "Where's your father?"  
  
"He's back home."  
  
"I see." Linda said, disappointed.  
  
"No, no! He just left an hour ago.it took a lot of convincing. He's been here the entire week, he hasn't left you. I was getting worried about him, so I told him to go home, shower, sleep. He's been sleeping on a cot in here."  
  
"He has? Your father?" Linda echoed.  
  
"Yup! My daddy." Stephanie giggled, disbelieving it as much as she knew her mother was. "Shane's calling him now, he'll be here soon, I promise. How are you?"  
  
"I'm..okay.uh, what happened to me?" Linda asked, afraid of the answer.  
  
Stephanie decided to leave that explanation to her father. "Daddy'll tell you all about it." She soothed. "But it's okay now, really. You're going to be just fine."  
  
"I heard you." Linda said abruptly.  
  
"Heard me?"  
  
"Yes.you read to me.I remember some of "Macbeth" and some sonnets, I believe."  
  
"You heard all of that?" Stephanie asked, still grinning like an idiot.  
  
"Mmmhmm..it was so nice. Thank you, darling."  
  
"Sure thing, Mom."  
  
"How long have I been..sleeping?"  
  
"A little over a week."  
  
"A week!"  
  
"Well, cheer up, at least I didn't say that you missed the first year of your grandchild's life, huh? A week's not that bad, not in the grand scheme of things."  
  
"Nuh." Linda grunted, struggling to sit up better. Stephanie pushed up the pillows for her and sat awkwardly back in her seat. "I guess not." She puffed. "Speaking of my grandchild, how is he? Or she?" Linda asked.  
  
"He, or she, is perfectly fine. Having a great old time of it."  
  
"Where's Hunter?" Linda asked, and cringed when she saw Stephanie's expression cloud over.  
  
"Let's not talk about him."  
  
"Oh, what's wrong now?" Linda sighed, sipped her water again.  
  
Stephanie shook her head as it bowed toward her lap. Linda pushed the curtain of hair away from her daughter's dejected face. "He's in Houston."  
  
Linda's face screwed up as she thought. "I see. He didn't stay with you?" She asked carefully.  
  
"He didn't ask to. I told him to stay away from me, and leave me the hell alone." Stephanie muttered.  
  
"And you did this because-" Linda prompted.  
  
"Because he's not just screwing Stacy, he's in love with her."  
  
"Stephanie.oh, good lord. And what gave you that impression?" Linda asked, exasperated.  
  
"I don't know, maybe because he said it."  
  
"He told you that!?"  
  
"Yes, well.no.not in so many words.but I know what I heard!"  
  
Linda closed her eyes, let her head sink into the pillow. "And how exactly did you hear this?" She asked tiredly.  
  
"Mom, look, you're just waking up.I don't want to bug you with my problems. So don't worry about it, okay?" Stephanie tried.  
  
"Oh, do be quiet!" Linda snapped primly. "You're my daughter, and in case you haven't noticed, I just have sooo many other things to do. So talk. You're hurting, and I want to know why." Stephanie stared at her mother for a moment, wondering why once upon a time she had hated her so fiercely. She lay her head at her mother's hand and explained so softly that Linda had to strain to hear.  
  
When Stephanie had finished, Linda stroked Stephanie's hair. "Don't you think you owe it to yourself to listen to him?"  
  
"What, you're taking his side?!" Stephanie lifted her head and demanded, outraged.  
  
"No, no, no! I'm always on your side, but sweetheart.it sounds like he had something to say to you and you didn't even listen to what he had to say. Maybe you should, if for no other reason than to erase any doubts you might have."  
  
"I'm not leaving you." Stephanie said firmly.  
  
"It's a sweet sentiment, darling, but I want you to look after yourself. And right now, that means listening to Hunter's side of the story, whatever it may be. And darling? Whatever he tells you, you're strong enough to take it."  
  
Stephanie looked at her mother doubtfully.  
  
"You are. And if Hunter is stupid enough to choose Stacy over you, then he's not the man either of us thought he was and you're well to be rid of him."  
  
"And-what if he tells me he loves her? It was bad enough overhearing it, but what if he tells me to my face? I don't know if I could bear that, Mother." Stephanie whispered.  
  
"And what if he tells you he made a mistake, he doesn't love her? Don't waste your life on what could have beens, darling. They'll eat you alive. It's not the things you do that you regret when you get to be my age, Stephanie. It's the things you didn't do that tear you apart. So if you love him, which I know you still do-then fight one more time."  
  
Stephanie looked back at her mother. "I hate it when you're right." She grumbled good-naturedly.  
  
"I'm always right, you just never admit it. Now go, go to Houston, find your husband and figure out what the hell is going on. And don't worry about me, your father and your brother will be back soon."  
  
Stephanie debated for all of two seconds, picked up her purse and kissed Linda on the cheek. "If you need me, call. Promise?" Stephanie demanded.  
  
"Cross my fingers." Linda said softly. Stephanie made her way to the door.  
  
"Good luck, sweetheart." Linda called.  
  
"Thanks Mom, I'm going to need it."  
  
  
  
Elsewhere in New York City  
  
  
  
"How the hell did we end up here?" Stacy asked, laughing.  
  
"You said you don't like hamburgers. I told you I don't want any rabbit food. So here we are." Kurt replied, pulling out his chair in the cheesy diner.  
  
"So spill." Kurt said as he handed back the menu to the waitress.  
  
"Spill?" Stacy asked innocently.  
  
"Why am I really here? I know you didn't come looking for me, you just said that you did. I decided to do the gentlemanly thing and not call you on it, but now I want to know."  
  
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Stacy said primly, smoothing her dress and spearing a piece of tomato.  
  
"Yeah, you do. The whole walk over here, you looked like you were going to cry. And I'll tell you right now, I can't stand women who cry, so I'd probably leave." Kurt said, 100% serious.  
  
Stacy nodded, chewing the tomato, blinking back her tears. "Yeah, I understand.I don't like wishy-washy people myself."  
  
Kurt leaned back. "Exactly.so what's got your panties in a twist?"  
  
"What?" Stacy dropped her fork to the plate with a clatter. "What did you ask me?"  
  
"Don't be all outraged, now. It's just a figure of speech."  
  
"Well, it was a stupid figure of speech, you jackass." Stacy hissed.  
  
"And obviously, it's hit a nerve..so, like I said at the beginning, spill."  
  
For some reason, Stacy didn't want to admit that Shane had stood her up, so she just decided to explain it away. "Hunter. What else could bug me like this, right, Kurt?"  
  
"That's what I was wondering. So what, have you talked to Caveman in the past couple days, Stacy?"  
  
"Nooo..it's just that, you know, he's really.hard not to think about. It hurts, whenever I think about the way he just played me, how he led me on."  
  
"Yeah, well, you know."  
  
"Know what, exactly, Kurt?!"  
  
"That's life. It sucks and then you die. Maybe you earn some Olympic Gold Medals along the way, makes things interesting, but then you go back to the sucking." He said offhandedly, perfectly content, as he shoveled in a french fry. "Wow, these are really good." He said.  
  
Stacy looked at him dumbfounded. What an insensitive idiot.and he called Hunter the Caveman! Stacy sputtered for words.  
  
Seeing her flush angrily, Kurt explained between chewing "Well, you know, it's just that I mean, hey, you were dumb enough to fall for the guy, and he's married to a woman he's still in love with and that you really don't want to get mad at you.you had it coming, Stacy, hate to break it to you."  
  
Stacy continued to stare, started trying to form words.  
  
"Well, don't get all innocent with me, Stacy, it's not going to work. You went into this with eyes wide open, and you knew what you were getting yourself into. Just like I did when I was trying to get Stephanie to leave his sorry ass and be with me. So Hunter hurt you, big deal. Hunter hurts everyone. So you know what I say?"  
  
"No, Kurt, what do you say?" Stacy asked sarcastically, finally finding her voice.  
  
"I say-" Kurt leaned in to Stacy across the table "don't get mad, get even." Kurt looked at Stacy meaningfully. "And I'm just the man to help you with that."  
  
"And you would help me because?"  
  
"I want Stephanie."  
  
"You what?"  
  
"I want Stephanie." Kurt repeated firmly.  
  
"Why? Why does everyone want that woman?"  
  
"Why wouldn't they want her? She's beautiful, she's loaded.well, she will be again, I'm sure..she's powerful, and she's heiress to the entire McMahon empire.I don't know.those seem like good enough reasons. She'll be good for my career, I firmly believe that. With her by my side, I'll finally be at the top, where I should have been all along. I was only champion for a lousy two weeks.." Kurt trailed off.  
  
"Huh. I should've figured." Stacy mused.  
  
"So? What do you say? A little vengeance for you, a lot of Stephanie for me. Everybody wins, everybody but Hunter, of course. Unless you're still hung up on him."  
  
"No!"  
  
Stacy protested a little too quickly for Kurt's taste, but he'd take what could get.  
  
"So you're in?"  
  
"What exactly did you have in mind?"  
  
"What did I have in mind? Now, that's an easy question. And the answer?" Kurt leaned in even closer, so close that she could feel his breath.not to mention smell the onion from his cheeseburger. "The complete and utter destruction of one Hunter-Hearst Helmsley."  
  
Stacy fidgeted with her straw, but making up her mind, she stared directly at Kurt. "I'm in." She said simply, and Kurt nodded in satisfaction. He raised his root beer and motioned for her to do the same. "Game over." He toasted, and she smiled half-heartedly and clinked his glass. "Game over." She echoed hollowly.  
  
"So, how do you feel about flying out to Houston"-Kurt checked his watch- "Say, right now?"  
  
Stacy looked back at him, curious.  
  
  
  
Houston, Later That Night  
  
Hunter downed the last of his soda and watched enviously as Kevin ordered another beer. Hunter only indulged in alcohol on rare occasions these days, and this certainly wasn't one of them.he was in a title match tomorrow night, after all. He'd drink to celebrate retaining his title-after the match.  
  
"Hey, Shawn's back." Kevin said. Hunter had always been amazed by Kevin's ability to drink a twelve pack and not even appear the slightest bit drunk. Even though Hunter knew he was completely out of it. Hunter could usually only do seven, maybe eight, before he started slurring.  
  
"Shawn!" Kevin greeted heartily. "How was the divine Miss Morgan?"  
  
"Miss Morgan is now.married." Shawn Michaels said dejectedly.  
  
Hunter sprayed his soda. "What?!" He exclaimed. "No way!"  
  
"Way, unfortunately." Shawn propped himself against the bar.  
  
"To who?" Hunter demanded.  
  
"See that giant in the corner?"  
  
"Whew.." Kevin whistled. "What is he.360 pounds?"  
  
"No, not him.as I was saying-the giant in the corner? Look at the guy who's sitting behind him."  
  
"Man, he's even bigger!" Nash choked out. "But we could take him.you want us to take him down, Shawn?"  
  
Shawn appeared to seriously consider it, but he shook his head no, and Kevin turned his attention back to his beer.  
  
"I can't even believe Morgan's married.how long have you had a thing for her?" Hunter asked Shawn.  
  
"Going on six years..she's the highlight of my trips to Texas."  
  
"Don't I know it." Every time they'd ever been to Texas, Shawn had always visited Morgan for at least a night..  
  
"This blows." Shawn said sadly.  
  
"Aww. the heartbreak kid finally has his own heart broken. Hate to break it to you, Shawn, but you're supposed to be cheering me up." Hunter commented dryly.  
  
"Yeah, but Morgan got married." Shawn said disbelievingly.  
  
Hunter laughed, causing several people to look at him. A southern twang spoke up behind him. "Hey, sug. Wanna play some pool with me and my friend over there?" A petite brunette asked. Hunter blinked for a minute. She looked like a smaller version of Stephanie. But what the hell, he was here to forget all about her.  
  
"Yeah, sure. We'll play. We'll. be over in a second, okay?" Hunter asked.  
  
"Sure thing. I'm Cassie, by the way, that's Beth."  
  
"Hunter, Shawn." Hunter said, gesturing to introduce himself.  
  
"See you in a minute." Cassie sauntered off.  
  
"Why are we playing pool again?" Shawn asked as they got up from the bar.  
  
"Because when you get depressed, you're a real drag and I don't feel like dealing with your problems in addition to my own." Hunter explained pointedly.  
  
" Sorry I asked." Shawn said. "Fine, let's play. Kev, you comin'?"  
  
"No..I think the beer and I need a few more rounds together."  
  
Shawn and Hunter rolled their eyes and went over to the table. Hunter took his soda with him and placed it on the table nearest the pool table. He picked up his cue and the others did the same. He was glad Kevin had talked him into going out with them..decent atmosphere, good friends, nice game, good-looking women..all in all, Stephanie-less life was..okay.  
  
  
  
Two hours later..  
  
Hunter laughed loudly, causing Cassie to murmur "Shhhhh.." As they lurched down the hall.  
  
"God, what is this, a library..Shhhhhhh..yourself." Hunter said loudly.  
  
"This is my room, let's get in." Cassie asked impatiently.  
  
"Yeah..look at the door.I don't remember it being white. Huh. White. Cass, I don't think this is my hotel."  
  
Cassie turned the lock. "Remember? We're going to mine? Okay, here we go."  
  
" I don't remember you saying we were going to go to yours.but okay. You know what's funny, Cass? I don't even remember having anything to drink but I must have drunk something cause I really feel like I could maybe be drunk. Do I look drunk?" Hunter rambled.  
  
"Yeah, but that's okay.." Cassie said, her voice sugary. "I just have to make a quick call. So you just get settled on the bed, allright?"  
  
"You know what? You look like my wife, did I tell you that? You have the same color hair, the same color eyes..she's got a better body though, I'm sorry. She's going to have a really great body for the next six months.we're going to have a baby, and everything-everything gets bigger when you're pregnant, you know? So I can't wait to see that, I can't picture anything bigger, but, hey, I'm up for it, you know? Wanna see my wife? I have a picture." Hunter pulled out his wallet, and folded in one of the compartments was a picture of Stephanie. "See? That's her. God, I miss her." Hunter mumbled as he passed out on the bed.  
  
Finally. Cassie dialed the number on her cell phone, and walked away.  
  
"Yeah? It's Cassandra Wexler. Um, you said if I actually got him here to my room that there'd be a uh-what did you call it-substantial reward? Well, I got him here, so when can I get my money?"  
  
The man on the other end was quiet for a moment. "You'll. get the money after you've done exactly-and I mean exactly-what I've told you to do."  
  
Cassie looked back at Hunter, unconscious on her bed with not a small degree of nervousness.  
  
"Okay.what do you want me to do?" 


	23. Chapter TwentyThree

Hunter Hearst-Helmsley groaned loudly as he blinked in the sunlight filtering in through the curtains. "What the fuck?" he cursed as he rolled onto his side-and promptly fell off the bed. Hunter heaved himself off the floor-and that was when he realized he was naked. "What the fuck?" He said again, looking down at himself in horror. Where the hell where his clothes?  
  
There were a thousand other questions coming to the fore in his mind. Like, where was he? What was he doing here? How had he gotten here.he hadn't even had any alcohol last night.and it would have taken quite a bit to get him to this state of being. Who the hell had he been with last night? He vaguely remember a brunette..and he remembered seeing Stephanie..but Stephanie couldn't have been here, she was in New York with Linda. So that must have been some kind of hallucination, right? Hunter buried his throbbing head in his hands.  
  
He glanced at the clock beside the bed...10:28 a.m. What had happened last night? Why did he feel like he'd been hit with a two by four? His mouth tasted like cotton and copper. And why did he remember blinding flashes of light and loud clicking noises.and laughter. He remember laughing, a woman's laugh..it sounded so familiar. A soft hand, running down his body...the feeling of long hair trailing down his chest. There had been someone else there....a man...he was familiar too. His forehead scrunched up in an effort to recall.  
  
Had he spent the night with some woman he didn't even remember? Hunter looked around the room for clues.there were no pictures, no papers, not much of anything, really..and worst of all, he couldn't even find an article of his clothing. Or any clothing, for that matter.  
  
He had to get the hell out of here, and he had to do it now. Hunter wrapped the bed sheet around him and peered around the bed. His wallet.come on, let them at least have left his damn wallet! But all he found was a crumpled picture underneath one of the blankets. He unfolded it shakily. It was a picture of Stephanie that he'd never gotten around to getting rid of.it was one of his favorite pictures of her. She was standing in front of a gorgeous Appaloosa, the wind blowing her hair in front of her face. She had been pulling it aside, laughing, when he had spontaneously snapped the picture. Hunter tucked it in a corner of the bed sheet and opened up the door cautiously. He looked around both corners and fled down the hallway, taking the steps by twos. He ended up outside the building without anyone noticing him. And that's when he realized that a car had squealed to a stop right in front of him. It had missed him by an inch. Hunter's eyes widened at the close call.  
  
A young girl got out of the car screaming at him for jumping out right in front of her. She was being quite inventive in her cursing, Hunter thought. Then she slowly took of her sunglasses and stared.  
  
"Holy.You're Triple H!" She squeaked.  
  
"Hi. Um, sorry about that.I was just kind of in a hurry. Like you can probably tell." He said gesturing down to the sheet.  
  
"Yeah.about that.where are your clothes?"  
  
"I guess I must have ticked someone off 'cause they're long gone, so I don't know."  
  
"Whoa. Did Stephanie do this to you? I would totally love to meet her! Is she around?"  
  
"I don't know that either.listen, I really have to get going, so you know, it's been a riot, really.."  
  
"Go where? You're about four miles outside of Houston.gonna be a long, hot walk in that little sheet." The girl smiled.  
  
"What's your name?" Hunter asked abruptly, trying desperately to get this conversation under control.  
  
"Lily. And don't change the subject, do you even have a car here?"  
  
"No.."  
  
"Well, then, I guess I'll have to give you a ride won't I?" Somehow Lily didn't seem the least put off by this turn of events. "You've got a title match with Jericho tonight, huh? Probably not the best move to party so hard the night before." She said with just the slightest hint of admonishment in her tone. "And what would your wife say?"  
  
Hunter looked at her slack-jawed. "Ex-wife." He corrected.  
  
"Yeah, right. Anyways, climb on in. Hey, do you mind if we stop at my friend Jamie's house? She's going to just die when she finds out I met you when you're naked."  
  
"I'm not naked.."  
  
"It's a sheet, it's naked. This is so damn cool! Get in already, won't you?"  
  
Hunter stared up at the sky, helplessly. Every single time he thought he couldn't sink any further, he somehow did. But it wasn't like he had other options here. Checking to ensure the sheet was firmly in place, he walked around the side of Lily's car and sat down heavily. She got back in after him and looking behind her shoulder, peeled out of the lot.  
  
"This totally rocks..isn't it funny the way fate works? I mean, I wasn't even supposed to come out here today but my Gram needed me to pick up some stuff out here, and here I am and here you are..this is so damn cool! I'm in a car with Triple H! Triple H is in my car.and he's naked! Ahhhh!" Lily pounded her steering wheel in excitement, causing Hunter to cringe.  
  
"I'm not naked, I am in a towel." He said defensively.  
  
"Oh, of course you are!" Lily reached out to pat him on the shoulder and then looked back at him. "Wow, that is really hard muscle." She squeezed, causing Hunter to look at her in amazement.you just didn't go around feeling people up! Granted, this was an.unusual situation, but that didn't mean you went around feeling people up!  
  
"So do you mind if we go to Jamie's?" Lily asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, well, it's like you said.I do have that match tonight.maybe I could just give you a picture? Or an autograph?...I take it you're a WWF fan?"  
  
"Huh? Me? No. My boyfriend is like, the biggest fan ever, and in order to see him every now and again, I became one too. He watches for the wrestling, he has every single event memorized, he can tell you entire title histories complete with dates. He's a real dork that way. Me, I just watch because I love you and Edge and RVD and even Christian.I have a thing for guys with long blonde hair. You know? My boyfriend doesn't have long blonde hair, which really sucks and I've told him maybe he should color it blonde..like I'd do it for him, you know, if he wanted me too.." Lily continued talking, but Hunter managed to block it out. He leaned his forehead against the window, one hand clutching his sheet like a lifeline.  
  
He was seriously considering jumping out of the car. 


	24. Chapter TwentyFour

It's been nine days, eight hours  
  
Forty minutes, ten seconds  
  
Since you called  
  
I've been so crazy  
  
I've just about  
  
Taken our picture  
  
Off the wall  
  
It's been three months  
  
Over a hundred days  
  
Since you held my hand  
  
And I miss you in  
  
A thousand ways  
  
Will I ever see you again?  
  
How did it change so fast? (I won't give you To the past)  
  
I really thought it'd last ..  
  
All that we had was  
  
So un-believ-able  
  
Now that it's gone  
  
It's just in-con-ceivable  
  
Still in my dreams  
  
You were so damn beautiful  
  
How could it be  
  
That you ruined my  
  
Everything  
  
Everything  
  
Everything?  
  
Everything  
  
Everything  
  
Everything ..  
  
It seems like  
  
Everyone everywhere's in love  
  
So, where are you?  
  
And I remember  
  
You couldn't get enough  
  
Said you felt it too  
  
So didn't you ?  
  
How did it change so fast? (I won't give you To the past)  
  
I really thought it'd last  
  
All that we had was  
  
So un-believ-able  
  
Now that it's gone  
  
It's just in-con-ceivable  
  
Still in my dreams  
  
You were so damn beautiful  
  
How could it be  
  
That you ruined my  
  
Everything  
  
Everything  
  
Everything?  
  
Everything  
  
Everything  
  
Everything  
  
Everything, everything, everything  
  
Everything, everything, everything  
  
Ooh, hooh  
  
You're really my everything  
  
Everything, everything  
  
Everything, everything, everything  
  
Everything, everything, everything  
  
Everything, everything, everything  
  
Everything, everything, everything  
  
Everything, everything, everything  
  
It's been nine days, eight hours  
  
Forty minutes, ten seconds  
  
Three months, a hundred days  
  
And I miss you in  
  
A thousand ways  
  
All that we had was  
  
So un-believ-able  
  
Now that it's gone  
  
It's just in-conceiv-able  
  
Still in my dreams  
  
You were so damn beautiful  
  
How could it be  
  
That you ruined my  
  
Everything  
  
Everything  
  
Everything?  
  
Everything  
  
Everything  
  
Everything  
  
  
  
Houston, Texas  
  
"I think this one is definitely the best..see? His eyes look like they maybe could be open." Stacy said, holding up the photograph critically.  
  
"Mmm. I see what you mean. But what about this one?" Kurt asked holding up a photograph for Stacy's approval.  
  
"No way.that one makes me look fat."  
  
"What?" Kurt demanded.  
  
"I said, it makes me look fat.see? My leg looks a little flabby.the angle is completely wrong."  
  
"You're kidding me, right? Please tell me you're kidding." Kurt pleaded.  
  
"I most definitely am not! If we're really going to do what you said, I want to look damn good in the photos.like in this one. See? I call it 'Rapturous Passion.'  
  
"You have names for the pictures now?" Kurt asked incredulously, his voice squeaking a bit.  
  
"Of course.it helps me keep track. Now, see, this one, you can plainly tell Hunter is not even awake, so I call it 'Sleeping Stupid.' And this one? Hunter's foot is sticking out over the bed, so I call it 'Big Foot.' And this one, this one is..whoo, Kurt. We both look really hot in this one, don't you think? It really looks like we're doing it." Stacy said wistfully, looking down at the picture.  
  
It really was too bad all of these photos were of something that never really happened. It made her kind of depressed..and angry, because they could have, SHOULD have happened. This could have been us, Stacy told the Hunter in the photo silently. But you just had to be a jerk, and now, you're going to get hurt when..you could have had it all. Stacy wiped away a tear angrily, hoping that Kurt hadn't noticed. He hadn't, he was still looking at one of the photographs. Stacy could almost see the little wheels turning in Kurt's huge head. He snorted, choking on his water. "Man, in this one, Hunter's nose looks even huger than it does in real life.hadn't thought it was possible."  
  
Stacy rolled her eyes. Kurt was sometimes so petty.he had to belittle any little thing wrong he ever thought he saw. To her, Hunter's nose reminded her of Roman nobles..very aristocratic. Here Kurt, Mr. Clean himself, was making fun of someone, and in her own humble opinion he actually shouldn't be throwing stones at glass houses.  
  
He was a horribly insecure man. She figured that was why he hadn't really gotten as far as he would have liked in his career. He spent so much time worrying what others thought of him, he didn't focus on the things that really mattered. Like kicking ass and taking names. Like he-who-must-not-be- named did.  
  
Stacy sighed, picked up another photo. Kurt looked up at Stacy in annoyance. "I can tell your heart isn't exactly into this.but you seemed like you were having a jolly good time of it last night."  
  
That was because she had been with Hunter. Naked Hunter. How could she not have been having at least a little fun with it? "Kurt, just because I'm not jumping up and down doesn't mean that I'm not happy with the plan. So back off, allright?"  
  
"Stacy, it cost me a thousand dollars to pay off Cassandra Wexler, get her to put that stuff in Hunter's drink..so just pick out a damn photo!"  
  
"It was stupid to pay her so much."  
  
"Well, we don't want her spilling to anyone, now do we?"  
  
"Well, for a thousand bucks she really had better not." Stacy said distantly. "And how on earth did you know where Hunter was last night..how did you get Cassandra Wexler to help us?"  
  
"I have my ways." Kurt said mysteriously.  
  
"Yeah? Like what? Who on earth could've told you where Hunter was? The only people he was with were Shawn and Kevin. and either of them would've rather drive a nail into their foreheads than ever talk to you."  
  
Kurt stiffened indignantly. "I didn't need either of those two buffoons.I've got someone much, much better. You see, Stacy, if you can't beat 'em.bribe 'em."  
  
Stacy leaned forward. "So you do have someone close to Hunter helping you then? Who?"  
  
"You'll find out soon enough. But right now, we have work to do. So Stacy?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Pick a freaking photo already!" Kurt snapped.  
  
  
  
Stephanie's Room in the Delta Hotel, Houston  
  
  
  
"I'm being ridiculous!" Stephanie told the reflection in her mirror. She had changed clothes for the sixth time that morning. But she wanted to look as good as she possibly could. She hadn't seen Hunter in a week, since that awful day in the hospital. Why was it always so important to her that she look her best around him? Maybe it was because she wanted him to be proud to be her husband.like she had always been so proud to call herself "Mrs. Hunter Hearst-Helmsley." But screw this. She was going to drive herself insane. "I look fine." She told the reflection. But 'fine' wasn't good enough. Never good enough. She went back to her suitcase, rummaged around. She didn't want to wear a short skirt, but she didn't feel like pants either. It was too warm outside. She found a long, deep blue velvet skirt, tried it on. Perfect. It brought out her eyes, she thought. Stephanie threw on a pair of sunglasses, and headed out of her hotel room. The two bodyguards she had brought with her from New York, Victor and Sam fell into position behind her.  
  
  
  
Outside The Delta Hotel, Houston, Texas  
  
  
  
"Thanks again, Lily." Hunter said as she dropped him off at his hotel. As they had promised on his cell phone call to them a few minutes earlier, Shawn and Kevin were waiting outside. Kevin had a big paper bag. They stared as the car pulled up. Kevin looked down in the car, saw Hunter in his sheet and started choking. He wordlessly handed Hunter the bag. It took some delicate shifting but Hunter managed to pull on the pair of sweat pants without dislodging the sheet all the way. Lily tried to hide her disappointment.Jamie would have died if she knew she'd seen Triple H's.747. Lily bit back a giggle. "Thanks for the autograph. And you've got my address right? I really would love that autographed picture of you." She asked hopefully.  
  
"Yeah, I got it. I'll send it out first thing. And I would really appreciate it if you could maybe.not mention this to many people?"  
  
"Sure, no prob. Just my boyfriend. And Jamie, of course, cause she's just gonna die! And maybe." Hunter groaned and pulled on his shirt and shoes. He climbed out of the car, leaving Lily still listing off people.  
  
"You say one word about this, either of you, I swear I will kill you." Hunter threatened, and meant every single word.  
  
Shawn miraculously kept from laughing, but Kevin was all but doubled over.  
  
"Hey, man, wait up." Shawn called as Hunter marched toward the entrance to the hotel. "Don't you want the sheet? You know, as a souvenir?" He guffawed.  
  
Hunter refused to look back, but he heard their footfalls as they trailed after him toward the hotel. He had a nasty headache, he was trying to remember what exactly had happened last night.and only a couple of things had crystallized. For one thing, he knew that he hadn't been alone. There had been a woman there, he remembered her voice. Her laugh. He'd heard it before, he knew he had, but it just refused to come to him. The second thing he knew was that there had been a man there..and that freaked him out even more than the rest of it. Maybe the man had just been visiting, he thought hopefully. He refused to believe that he'd been that out of it to- to-to-no. Hunter had never been into three ways of any sort, much less in that combination, and even if he had been doped to the gills, he refused to believe that he would have been so completely out of it. He had to remember what had really happened last night, and he had to do it as soon as possible. He'd track down Cassie, and whatever it took he would get the truth from her. The bitch had done something to him, and he would find out exactly what. No one played the Game like this. No one, much less some two- bit Texan twit.  
  
He pulled open the door viciously-and a very startled Stephanie dropped her purse, it's contents spilling on the concrete. She blinked in shock at Hunter.  
  
  
  
New York City  
  
  
  
"I still can't believe she went to Houston! How could she do that?" Vince yelled in Linda's room. He had been pacing off and on for the past hour.  
  
Shane rubbed his head tiredly. Vince had been on a tirade ever since yesterday, when he'd exploded after Linda had told him Stephanie had gone to Houston.  
  
"Is the girl stupid or is she just plain careless?" Vince wondered aloud.  
  
"And how exactly would she have been any safer here?" Linda demanded, having had enough of Vince's dramatics. "The stalker has already proven that he can get to any of us, at any time." She said reasonably, still horrified at the mere thought of it.  
  
"But at least she'd be here, with us. We could all look out for each other. Right now, the only people we can trust are inside of this family, and no one else!" Vince said firmly.  
  
"In Houston, she'll be with Hunter.and he's family." Linda pointed out.  
  
"The hell he is! You know, I liked it a whole lot better when you hated him as much as I do." Vince grumbled.  
  
"Well, I don't anymore. I'll admit there was a time when I thought that maybe the devil himself would be a better match for Stephanie, but.now, he's grown on me. He's not evil incarnate, Vince. He's the man our daughter loves..and I personally think that Stephanie and he are good for each other."  
  
"Linda-"  
  
"Vince, I don't want to talk about this anymore! The only thing I'm going to ask you now is the only thing that's important: Do you trust Hunter to look out for Stephanie? Do you honestly think that he would ever allow anyone to physically harm her? Well? Do you?"  
  
Vince muttered something.  
  
"What was that Vince? I couldn't quite hear you, you were talking through your ass again."  
  
"Mom!" Shane sputtered, laughing.  
  
"No, okay? Is that what you were waiting to hear, Linda? I trust the s.o.b. to watch Stephanie's back, but I still think he's a miserable excuse for a human being."  
  
"Yeah, well, he's her miserable excuse of a human being.just like you're mine. So just drop it, and let the chips fall where they may, allright? She took bodyguards, Hunter will still keep an eye out for her.I'm going to try not to worry too much about her. She wouldn't have been any safer here, anyway." Linda said.  
  
Vince looked back at Linda, prepared to go another round, but she looked so tired.so frail. She seemed to have shrunken somehow. Vince swallowed his protests, and reached over to take his wife's hand. "I'm glad to hear your voice again.even if you are arguing with me." He said softly.  
  
Shane coughed, took this as his cue to leave. He heard the sound of his parents kissing behind him and smiled wryly. At least one thing was right in the world.  
  
  
  
Houston  
  
"Stephanie.when did you get to Houston?" Hunter asked as he knelt and helped her pick up the contents of her purse.  
  
"Last night.and.."  
  
"Why are you here? Smackdown? I'm just surprised, I thought you would want to stay with Linda."  
  
"I would have, but she told me to come to Houston and-"  
  
"She told you? She woke up?" Hunter asked. Stephanie smiled, nodded happily.  
  
"Wow. That's really great.I'm really happy for you."  
  
"I know you are. And thanks. But the reason I'm in Houston isn't for Smackdown, it's because I-"  
  
"Hunter, man, did you fall over?" Shawn asked, seeing Hunter squatting on the floor. He then saw Stephanie and stopped dead. "Stephanie.didn't realize you were here." Shawn said.  
  
"Hi, Shawn..Kevin. I guess you guys came out to see Hunter, huh?"  
  
"Yeah.we did. Matter of fact, we were out all last night together." Shawn mentioned casually, trying to give Hunter an alibi, for whatever the hell Hunter was knee-deep in now.  
  
"Oh. I see. Went to visit Morgan, huh?" Stephanie questioned, a huge smile starting on her face..she loved messing with Shawn. It was so damn easy.  
  
Shawn reddened. "Yeah. Something like that..uh, Hunter, we're just going to head back up."  
  
"Yeah. Thanks, man." Hunter smiled, got to his feet and extended his hand toward Stephanie to pull her up. She brushed off her skirt and nodded toward the men who had come up behind her.  
  
"I suppose I ought to introduce everyone..Hunter, this is Victor. And Sam."  
  
"You're the bodyguards. Good to meet you." Hunter extended a hand.  
  
"You must be the guy who hired Rich and Rick Stone to investigate us." Sam said, shaking Hunter's hand good-naturedly.  
  
"How did you know about that?"  
  
"It's our job. I take it that we checked out?" Victor asked.  
  
"You're here, aren't you?" Hunter pointed out. They wouldn't have been if they hadn't checked out.  
  
"Indeed. Perhaps we should start moving?" Victor asked.  
  
"Yeah, let's do that." Hunter said firmly, gesturing toward his limo, where Chad had just pulled up.  
  
Sam started toward the car, looking underneath the body.Hunter shook his head, turned back to Stephanie.  
  
Stephanie looked peculiar. "You okay?" He asked warily.  
  
"Why did you have my guards investigated?"  
  
"I wanted to make sure you're safe."  
  
"That's all?" Stephanie asked, her heart sinking.but what had she expected him to say, she asked herself angrily: that he loved her, couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt?  
  
"What else could there be?" Hunter asked, confused as to what exactly she wanted him to say. It wasn't like he could admit that he loved her, and he just couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt.  
  
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Stephanie said bitterly. "It looks like Sam finished checking out your limo.are we going somewhere then? I think we really need to talk."  
  
"That's what I said last week.and you wouldn't hear anything I had to say. What's changed?" Hunter asked, not moving.  
  
"I have a reservation for lunch. Do you want to join me?" Stephanie asked, praying he would agree. She so didn't want to have this conversation right now.she was afraid if he actually admitted he was in love with Stacy, she might just break down in front of the hotel.  
  
"I'm not exactly dressed for it." Hunter commented looking down at his Screw the Rules T-shirt and sweatpants.  
  
"Who cares? We'll tip them extra."  
  
Hunter stared at Stephanie for a second. "Okay then." Hunter followed Stephanie to the limo, wondering at her sudden about-face. She seemed nervous. Because of him? He'd find out soon, he figured. All he knew was that he was relieved that she hadn't been in that room with him last night.she would have said something by now if she had been.  
  
  
  
Elsewhere in Houston  
  
  
  
"I'm telling you, this one is the winner! Look, Hunter is sprawled out on top of you, you can't see his face, it just looks like you're kissing. You can even see that it's definitely you. It's perfect!" Kurt enthused.  
  
Stacy looked down at the picture thoughtfully. "You know what, Kurt? I think you're actually right. This one's the one." She said, delicately holding the photo at the edges.  
  
"So then we're agreed?" Still looking at the photo, Stacy nodded. Kurt got up from their table, took the photo from her hands, and marched up to the technician. "This one's the one. Work your magic." Kurt said happily.  
  
Stacy sipped on Kurt's water, wondering why she wasn't feeling as jubilant as he was.  
  
Kurt sat back down, next to her. "Let's go celebrate. We'll go to lunch." Stacy rose from the table. "That'll be done in a few hours, right?" Kurt called behind the counter.  
  
"Sure thing, Mr. Angle. Come back in three hours." The technician called.  
  
"We'll definitely be here." Kurt called back, and much to Stacy's relief, they finally left.  
  
"So where are we going to lunch?" Stacy asked as they climbed into the car.  
  
"A little place that Stephanie actually told me about. She said its got great food. I'm starving, so I'm going to drive fast."  
  
"Well, if Stephanie recommended it, then of course we have to go." Stacy bit out. But Kurt, as usual, was completely oblivious to her feelings. Stacy lay back in her seat, wishing she were somewhere else.they hadn't even done anything to Hunter yet and she was already regretting it.  
  
  
  
After a subdued and unnaturally silent limo ride, Hunter got out behind Stephanie when they'd arrived at the restaurant. Sam and Victor followed. Stephanie spoke to the maitre'd, who as Hunter had suspected, looked down at him rather snootily. Stephanie put the man at ease with a fifty, and they were led to a table in the back. "Guys?" Stephanie addressed Victor and Sam. "Could you please move over there? We'd like a little privacy." Stephanie pointed to a table a few feet away. Victor nodded shortly.  
  
The waiter brought their menus and Stephanie pretended to study it carefully, but the words were all blending together on the pages. She realized her hands were shaking the menu so she carefully set it down on the table so Hunter wouldn't notice. Stephanie gulped down some water and almost choked as it went up her nose. She coughed loudly and Hunter looked at her quizzically. They'd both been so silent in the limo ride. She had been afraid to talk, and she didn't know exactly what was up with him.  
  
"So, how have you been feeling?" Hunter asked, trying to get her to say something, anything. Why was she here? Could it be that she finally wanted to really talk to him? He hoped so.but damned if he would make it too easy for her. She had behaved completely inappropriately last week, and he hadn't forgotten it. And the thing of it was that he still didn't have the slightest idea what had set her off in the first place!  
  
"How have I been feeling? I'm tired." Stephanie admitted.  
  
"What, not sleeping tired..You have been taking care of yourself, right? Trying to get some rest?" Hunter prompted. He had to admit that she looked tired.she had circles under her eyes she hadn't been able to conceal, her face was pale..but she was dressed impeccably as always. He thought the skirt looked really great with her eyes..and the slit up the thighs didn't hurt either.  
  
"I'm tired of everything. I'm tired of being worried about my family. I'm tired of being scared, wondering if there's something in my food. It's gotten so that I can't even bring myself to eat anything besides t.v. dinners." She confessed.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"And I hate t.v. dinners.but they're prepackaged, so I figure they're safe." Stephanie said quietly. The waiter came by, set down their salads and took the rest of their order.  
  
Resuming their conversation, Hunter said: "I had no idea.of course you would have been freaked, after the juice and everything."  
  
"It's stupid, huh? But I just can't help it.every time I try and eat something, I feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm trying to get better about it though. That's why I made this reservation.to get myself out of this funk."  
  
"I'm glad. It's going to be fine."  
  
"Promise? You know, somehow I just feel better having you sitting across from me." Stephanie confessed. "But you always make me feel better." She said, almost as an afterthought.  
  
"Yeah, I'll watch you eat. If you want, I can even taste test..it's a pretty big sacrifice, I know. Taste-testing expensive food.baby, who's got your back?" Hunter asked with a smile. This wasn't so bad.at least they weren't screaming. Yet.  
  
Stephanie couldn't help it, she started laughing. He looked so adorable sitting across from her.in his little t-shirt, in his sweat pants.and she couldn't help but notice it.she wondered if he might be going commando? The prospect was tantalizing. It was very distracting, at the very least. Very wicked thoughts were popping up in her mind. Stephanie dragged her thoughts from the gutter and looked back up at Hunter.  
  
"I want to tell you why I came to Houston." She told him, her hands under the table, clenching and unclenching. God, why was she so damn nervous? Only because this entire conversation would probably be one of the turning points in her whole damn life..this could either be the beginning, or..the end. Her stomach did a somersault as she answered her own question.  
  
"I'd like to know. You said something about Linda telling you to come?" Hunter asked, as offhandedly as he could. His eyes searched her face, her body, trying to get some kind of clue as to what she was saying. All he'd picked up on so far was that she was nervous.and scared. Somehow, Stephanie being afraid made him feel better-she wouldn't be afraid if she didn't care.  
  
"Yeah. My mother told me.Mom told me that maybe I had jumped to conclusions. The wrong conclusions." Stephanie said carefully, sipping her water again, she was so thirsty, her eyes narrowed on Hunter.  
  
Hunter, searching for something to do, finally noticed that the waiter had brought his salad and he speared a huge slice of tomato. "What kind of conclusions?" He asked inbetween bites.  
  
"I'm just going to say it, okay? I can't stand it anymore. One way or the other, I just have to know, or you damn man, you're going to drive me absolutely insane! I know you said you're in love with Stacy, but-"  
  
Hunter choked on his tomato. "Hunter are you-oh, my God, you're choking! Somebody, help us, he's choking!" Stephanie screamed hysterically. She rushed over behind him and locked her hands around his waist in the Heimliech maneuver.  
  
  
  
"Hi. Reservations for two, under Kurt Angle."  
  
"Ahh, yes. Mr. Angle, ma'am. Right this way."  
  
"What's going on over there?" Stacy asked curiously. A young woman appeared to be running, but Stacy couldn't quite see her.  
  
"I do believe that the young lady's dinner companion is choking." The waiter said, as though it were nothing to be worried about. "But I can assure you, it's not because of our food." He finished hurriedly.  
  
"We don't care. Just seat us, please." Kurt told the waiter, ignoring the happenings on the other side of the room. But Stacy's curiosity was piqued, she continued to stare. Then she tripped over the carpet and flung into Kurt's arms.  
  
"You know, we've got to stop doing this." Kurt grinned as he caught her lightly.  
  
"It's Hunter! And Stephanie!" Stacy gasped.  
  
"Stephanie? Where?" Kurt spun around, dropping Stacy to the floor. He caught sight of Stephanie and pulled Stacy to her feet and dragged her over to a table. They sat directly parallel to Hunter and Stephanie, behind a small partition, so they were not visible.  
  
"Mr. Angle.this wasn't your seat, but if you would like it." The waiter stammered.  
  
"Shh!" Kurt hissed. "Yeah, we want it. Now let us just look at the menus, okay?" The waiter handed the two their menus and both Stacy and Kurt sat listening to the couple across the wall.  
  
"Did you know they were going to be here?" Stacy whispered.  
  
Kurt wouldn't meet her eyes. "Of course not.well, actually, yeah, yeah, I did." He admitted, not really seeing any reason to lie.  
  
"How?" Stacy demanded.  
  
"Later, I'll tell you later! Now be quiet, I want to listen." Kurt said.  
  
  
  
The tomato went flying out and it hit the wall. Stephanie buried her head in relief against his back. Hunter turned around and held Stephanie's chin.  
  
"First of all, thank you for that." Hunter gasped, and to her shock, the jerk was actually laughing! Stephanie hit him on his arm and nodded through her relieved tears. "And secondly, have you completely lost your mind? You must have if you think that I could ever be in love with Stacy."  
  
"But you said-"  
  
"I don't know how you ever could have thought I loved Stacy.but I guess I can see how you could be confused. I have to tell you something.I never slept with Stacy, Stephanie." There was a weird intake of breath across the partition, but neither of them noticed.  
  
"What? But-in New Orleans-"  
  
"I know. I set it up to look like I was having an affair."  
  
"What?" Stephanie whispered, horrified.  
  
"It was a horrible thing to do, I know that, but-"  
  
"I had no idea you could hate me that much." Stephanie stepped back, the tears flowing readily down her face.  
  
"No! It wasn't because I hate you! It was because we were destroying each other, and I wanted the divorce. I was desperate, and I couldn't think of anything else. Please believe that at least.it wasn't a deliberate attempt to hurt you, I just wanted you to hate me enough to give me the divorce. Princess, please, sit back down, okay?"  
  
Stephanie slid back over to her side of the table. "You never slept with her?" She asked, wanting to hear the words again. She didn't care that he had set her up, it didn't matter.he hadn't slept with another woman! They had done so much to each other, this was just another game. A warm feeling was beginning to crawl through her but she tried to dampen it, just in case he wasn't saying what she thought he was saying.  
  
She hoped he was saying what she thought he was saying.  
  
She prayed he was saying what she thought he was saying. Stephanie crossed her toes inside her sandals. Please, please, please, if you let me have him, I promise I'll never ask for anything else ever again.unless it's really, really important. She amended in her silent prayer, not wanted to lie.  
  
"No. I didn't sleep with her in New Orleans. I swear to you." Stephanie saw the sincerity in his eyes and the warm feeling continued to spread. "I can see why you'd believe I was sleeping with her.but how did you get to my being in love with her?"  
  
There was a loud clatter of plates across the partition. Stephanie frowned, ignoring it. "I heard you! At the hospital."  
  
Hunter looked at her, eyes raising to tell her to elaborate.  
  
"Last week.I found out you'd been hurt, I ran up to see you. But you were with Stacy. You said you loved her." Stephanie said, her toes beginning to get sore from the crossing.  
  
"I don't remember.are you sure? I was pretty out of it. If I did say it.it's only because I thought I was talking to you, Steph."  
  
"But if you thought you were talking to me.does that mean." The toes crossed even more tightly, and she crossed her fingers too, underneath the tablecloth. Please, please, please, please...  
  
"That I love you? Yeah, it does. I love you Stephanie, no matter how hard I tried to stop, I couldn't.I tried to cut you out of my heart, but it wouldn't work. It never worked. I love you, Stephanie McMahon." Hunter said intensely. That weird hiss of breath across the wall again.  
  
"Oh, thank God!" Stephanie said as she got up from the table, sobbing, allowing everything that was crossed become uncrossed again. "I was wondering if I ever would get to hear you say those words to me again. I've missed you so much.everything's been so wrong in my life since you weren't in it. I've been so bored, and lonely, and I hate not being yours anymore." Stephanie choked out, wrapping her arms around his neck, sitting astride his lap. He held her back fiercely.  
  
"Mrs. McMahon?" A waiter came up behind them. Neither of them moved. The waiter coughed loudly, Hunter turned to look back at him. "What? This better be good."  
  
"Ah, well.your driver brought in your cell phone.apparently, you have a phone call, Mrs. McMahon."  
  
"I what? Tell them to call back later." Stephanie said absolutely resolute. Nothing short of a freakin' tornado was getting her away from this spot. And even if the tornado came, it would still be difficult.  
  
"Ma'am, all I know is that someone's asked for Stephanie McMahon. They apparently said it was important."  
  
"Maybe you ought to take it.just so we can stop being bothered. Or it could actually be important..your mother, or something." Hunter whispered.  
  
"You don't mind?" Hunter shook his head. "I'll be back in two seconds. Don't move."  
  
"Not in a million years would I move from right here." Hunter laughed. Stephanie still didn't move. He unwrapped his arms from her body. "We have all the time in the world. Go." He said softly, smiling beautifully.  
  
Stephanie, always mesmerized by that smile, reluctantly crawled off of Hunter's lap, and followed the waiter. Sam trailed her.  
  
Stephanie smiled at Chad who apologized for the interruption, picked up the phone and said "Hello? This is Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley." But the receiver was dead. Stephanie frowned at Chad. "Did they say who it was?"  
  
"No, that's weird. The guy said it was really important he talk to you. I don't know why he'd hang up."  
  
"Me either.I'll take the phone with me in case they call again. Thanks anyway, Chad."  
  
"No prob, Mrs. H." Stephanie's eyes widened in surprise. "Why, Chad, I do believe that's the first time you've called me that in a while.what brings on the change?"  
  
"I think you're done screwing Mr. H. over, so I think I like you again." Chad cringed guiltily when he heard those words come out of his mouth. After all, he was the one who was really screwing Hunter over.but then he thought of the money Kurt Angle had promised him for only doing a few little things, and he suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore.  
  
"I see.and I'm glad. I'm going back to Hunter." Stephanie said, not exactly certain how she wanted to respond to Chad's comment.  
  
"Stephanie?" Stephanie pivoted toward the voice. "Kurt. What are you doing here?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Smackdown, of course. But I guess you mean the restaurant.you actually told me I should come here, remember?"  
  
"Uh.yeah. Actually, I'm glad you're here. I'm here with Hunter. And I was just going to tell him the truth, about the baby. That you're not the father. Hunter and I.I think we're gonna be allright. I want to say thank you for helping me out. You're a great friend, you know that? I love you for it." Stephanie said, hugging Kurt.  
  
"Hey, I am always your friend. Remember that, okay?" Kurt said, hugging her even more fiercely, trying to buy a little time..  
  
"I will." Stephanie promised. "Are you here with anyone?" She asked.  
  
"Actually, I'm here with Stacy." Kurt said.  
  
"Why?" Stephanie asked pointedly.  
  
"She's actually a great girl, once you get to know her. I know you don't especially care for her. But she's really been good to me these past few days. She's been taking care of me after.."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Shane mentioned that Hunter had wiped the floor with you. I apologize for that, but please believe he had his reasons."  
  
Kurt seethed inwardly, but he managed a half-smile. "Yeah.of course he did. And if he hadn't attacked me, just think-- Stace and I might never have gotten to know each other. She's been so great, she hasn't even left my side the past week. Except last night, that's it. You want me to take you back to your table?"  
  
"Actually, thanks.but no. I think that would upset Hunter, and I don't want to do anything to rock the boat. I'm um, happy? About you and Stacy." And she actually kind of was.it kept the woman away from her man, didn't it? She did feel sorry for Kurt though, he had no idea what he was getting himself into.  
  
Stephanie strode back toward the table, Sam in tow. She stopped cold when she heard raised voices from her table. It was Stacy, talking to Hunter. The witch actually had the nerve to sit in Stephanie's own seat! Stephanie rounded the corner, headed directly for a startled Stacy. "Get up, bitch!" Stephanie yelled, hauling Stacy up bodily from the table.  
  
"Stephanie-it's" Hunter said, pulling Stephanie off of Stacy. "Stacy was just leaving."  
  
"But Hunter-" Stacy pleaded, as she allowed tears to flow down her face. She was glad she wasn't wearing waterproof mascara.it really added to the effect she thought. "Why are you doing this? I love you, you know that? Didn't last night mean anything to you?" She whispered in her best whimper. She watched through narrowly slitted eyes how Stephanie stiffened, looked up at Hunter questioningly.  
  
"Last night?" Hunter asked. No, no, please no, not her..  
  
"The wonderful night we spent together..we made love last night, Hunter. You were with Cassandra Wexler, she found my number on your cell phone because you were really drunk, she called me and luckily I was already here in Houston. I came right away, and one thing led to another..it was beautiful, like I always knew it would be. Hunter! Don't do this!"  
  
Hunter looked at Stacy slack-jawed. Could what she was saying actually be true? He couldn't remember! No, no, it couldn't be true, he'd remember.but he couldn't! What was going on here? He felt Stephanie draw away from him. She looked at him.  
  
"I hate even having to ask this.but is this true?" Stephanie asked distantly.  
  
He didn't answer.  
  
"Hunter, please, just say it's not true, I'll believe you. I swear to God, I'll believe you. All you have to do is say it. Please, say it." Stephanie begged.  
  
"I can't--I just, I don't--I don't know." Hunter admitted. Stephanie looked at him silently, wishing she could go back in time five minutes ago when everything had been wonderful again and not this horrible hell she couldn't seem to get out of. 


	25. Chapter TwentyFive

And love  
  
Is not the easy thing  
  
The only baggage  
  
That you can bring  
  
Not the easy thing  
  
The only baggage you can bring  
  
Is all that you can't leave behind  
  
And if the darkness is to keep us apart  
  
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off  
  
And if your glass heart should crack  
  
And for a second you turn back  
  
Oh no, be strong  
  
Walk on, Walk on  
  
What you got, they can't steal it  
  
No-- they can't even feel it  
  
Walk on, Walk on  
  
Stay safe tonight  
  
You're packing a suitcase for a place  
  
None of us has been  
  
A place that has to be believed  
  
To be seen  
  
You could have flown away  
  
A singing bird  
  
In an open cage  
  
Who will only fly  
  
Only fly for freedom  
  
Walk on, Walk on  
  
What you got  
  
You can't deny it  
  
Can't sell it or buy it  
  
Walk on, Walk on  
  
You stay safe tonight  
  
And I know it aches  
  
How your heart it breaks  
  
You can only take so much  
  
Walk on, Walk on Home  
  
Hard to know what it is  
  
If you never had one  
  
Home  
  
I can't say where it is  
  
But I know I'm going Home  
  
That's where the hurt is  
  
And I know it aches  
  
And your heart it breaks  
  
You can only take so much  
  
Walk on  
  
Leave it behind  
  
You've got to leave it behind  
  
All that you fashion  
  
All that you make  
  
All that you build  
  
All that you break  
  
All that you measure  
  
All that you feel  
  
All this you can leave behind  
  
All that you reason  
  
All that you care  
  
It's only time And I'll never fill up all I find  
  
All that you sense  
  
All that you scheme  
  
All you dress up  
  
And all that you see  
  
All you create  
  
All that you wreck  
  
All that you hate  
  
Houston  
  
Stephanie decided to ignore the crushing pain she was feeling in her chest. So that's what a breaking heart feels like, she thought..it really is as painful as it sounds. She swallowed hard, looking at Hunter. She managed to say calmly: "And how is it exactly that you 'don't know'?"  
  
Hunter looked back at Stephanie so intensely she actually almost took a step back. "I swear to you, I just don't know! All I know is that I woke up this morning with my head feeling like my brain was trying to make a break for it, I was in some weird room a few miles outside of Houston and a teenage girl had to give me a ride back here. That's all I remember, Steph! I don't remember sleeping with anyone, much less Stacy.but I remember there was a woman laughing.and I don't know! I just.I." Hunter trailed off helplessly, thinking he was digging his own grave.  
  
"There's no way you were drinking last night." Stephanie said firmly.  
  
"Well, of course he was! When I saw him last night, he was so drunk and after a couple of trips to the bathroom, he was getting better.but that is why Cassandra Wexler called me in the first place. To help him." Stacy said, wiping a fake tear from her face.  
  
"So what? You help him by sleeping with him? Oh, that makes complete sense." Stephanie said bitchily. But now she knew.  
  
She knew.  
  
She knew the bitch was lying. She couldn't explain it, but everything inside of her was telling her that this was all wrong. She decided to trust that instinct, maybe because it was what she wanted to do above anything else. She studied Stacy carefully, and was even more certain. Stacy's eyes were darting all over the room, her foot was shifting ever so lightly across the floor..And how else did she know? Stacy said Hunter had been drunk. That couldn't be true, not if she knew one thing at all about the man she was married to. Hunter rarely drank enough to get drunk-he could take in an amazing amount of alcohol-but he would never, ever get drunk the night before a title match. Any other kind of match, maybe, it depended if he was really ticked off about something.but a title match? Never. Stephanie felt as though a truckload of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders. The relief quickly turned to anger as she wondered exactly what kind of game Stacy was trying to play with her marriage. It was about damn time Stacy Keibler learned that screwing with people was one thing, but interfering in something as serious as a marriage was quite another.  
  
Stephanie felt like laughing, telling Stacy where she could take her lies and shove them but..there was the fact that something had happened to her husband last night. And she was determined to find out what. Stephanie swung around to face Hunter. Poor baby.he looked so genuinely freaked it took everything inside her not to wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything between them was fine. More than fine.for the first time in too long a time, they were on the same side. They were in accord. So instead she slapped him, the crack resounding through the restaurant.  
  
Hunter's eyes flared in shock, so she grabbed his chin and smiled at him, knowing Stacy couldn't see her own face as she was behind Stephanie. 'It's okay', she mouthed silently. Hunter looked down at Stephanie, thoroughly confused. 'Play along, trust me', she mouthed, widening her eyes for effect.  
  
Hunter stepped back, rubbed his cheek, wondering what the hell was happening now. Stephanie didn't look mad..why wasn't she mad? He'd just have to follow her lead since it seemed like she was the only one of the two of them that had a freakin' clue about anything. He racked his brain for anything to say.  
  
"What the hell was that? Did you ever realize that anytime the going gets tough, you go after me physically? Can't you use words, not violence?" He asked inanely, the words almost catching in his throat as he tried not to laugh at the hypocrisy.  
  
"Shut up! You're one to talk, you adulterous jerk! To think, I was about to take you back.well, you can forget all about it now, Hunter! If your taste in women has sunk so low that you'd touch that-that-well, then I want no part of you ever again!"  
  
"Yeah, well, that suit's me just fine! What the hell was I thinking-you're poison, Stephanie! I'd have to be insane to want to be with you anymore!" Hunter said, drawing words from the air.  
  
"Good, that's just great! You liar! I am soooo glad that we're not married anymore! And do you know what else, Hunter? I can do so much better than you!"  
  
"You're glad? You think you're the one who's glad?! Me, I'm so happy, I'm dancing! See, I'm doin' a little dance on the grave of us!" Hunter exploded, doing a neat little half-step, really getting into this fight now. "And you think you can do better? You really think so?" Hunter pulled Stephanie against him forcefully and kissed her passionately. To the outside world, the kiss looked angry, violent, but for the two people sharing it, it was absolute bliss. Hunter had to force himself to pull away from a heavy-lidded Stephanie. She groaned almost audibly. "There! I'd really like to see you ever get anything better than that!" Hunter bit out, loving the expression on both Stephanie and Stacy's faces. The utter shock on Stacy's..the utter rapture on Stephanie's.  
  
"Oh, she definitely can do better." Kurt said, as he came up from behind Hunter.he'd been watching the entire thing of course, and loving every single minute. Nothing could be going any more perfectly! He stepped boldly past Hunter, reached in-and pulled Stephanie in for a kiss!  
  
Hunter's hand automatically went to Kurt's shoulder to pull him off of Stephanie, but he held himself back because Stephanie waved him off behind Kurt's shoulder. Stephanie pushed herself away from Kurt, trying not to let the distaste show on her face. Kurt didn't know it but he'd just added a hell of a lot of authenticity to her little ruse she was doing for Stacy's benefit.  
  
But then she began to wonder: What on earth was Kurt doing? It was highly coincidental that he'd happened to come to the same restaurant as her, not to mention the fact he'd brought Stacy with him. He couldn't be plotting with Stacy, could he? She hoped not, it might just destroy her faith in the entire notion of friendship for good.  
  
"You're right, Kurt! Let's get out of here, leave the happy couple to their..whatever the hell it is that they're calling it!" Stephanie said in her best arrogant tone. Her hand rummaged through her purse for a pen, grabbed a napkin after she found it. Hunter managed to shoot her a desperate look. Stephanie knew he had to be pretty bewildered so she stepped up to Hunter and called him a few choice words as she hastily scribbled a note out of sight. Both Kurt and Stacy were behind her, thoroughly enjoying the show. Little did they know it actually was a show, put on by Mr. and Mrs. Game themselves.  
  
"Bastard!" She said offhandedly, scribbling the note frantically, holding it against her leg but trying to remain absolutely standing so it didn't look weird to Stacy or Kurt.  
  
Moving to her side a little to block Kurt's view of her actions, Hunter returned: "Slut!"  
  
"Asshole!"  
  
"Bottom-feeding Bitch!" Hunter flung out, drawing from Jericho's insults.  
  
"Um-Jerk!"  
  
"Jerk? What the hell kind of insult is that supposed to be? Did you want me to get you a thesaurus?" Hunter demanded.  
  
"Ooh, a word with more than two syllables! Do you even know what a thesaurus is?" She asked scathingly. Stephanie finished writing. Picking up on that fact, Hunter reached out to grab her hand and she slipped him the note.  
  
"I hate you!" Stephanie said, but mouthed 'I love you' silently. He stroked her hand, and she yanked it away, stomping out of the restaurant, Kurt in tow. Hunter turned quickly, as though he was watching her leave. He studied her hastily scribbled note:  
  
Stacy's lying, find out what really happened. I'll call you soon.  
  
Hunter crumpled the note in his huge palm, turned to Stacy. Maybe a direct approach was called for here. "Did we really sleep together?" He asked incredulously.  
  
Stacy was still reeling from the fact that it looked like Stephanie and Hunter were truly finished. "Of course! Why would I lie?"  
  
"Oh, only about a MILLION reasons are coming to mind!" Hunter snapped angrily.  
  
"Hunter, look."  
  
"I want to know exactly what happened, and I want to know right now. Now!" Hunter demanded.  
  
  
  
Stephanie felt a little out of breath as she allowed Kurt to lead her outside of the restaurant. Stephanie stopped Kurt with her hand. Meanwhile, she alternated between thinking Kurt was a traitor and that maybe she'd misunderstood everything. "Thanks for sticking up for me in there.I don't know how this all could have happened." She said in her best bewildered voice.  
  
"Oh, Stephanie, it's so much better this way, trust me! You totally can do better than that moron in there." Kurt said reassuringly. This was it! His chance, finally. Stephanie would never be more vulnerable than she was right at this minute.  
  
"It's just-he's he's the first man I ever really loved." Stephanie said, glad to finally be saying something that was the truth.  
  
"Well, meet the next man you're going to love." Kurt pronounced, smiling broadly.  
  
"I mean, Hunter-I-huh? What did you just say?" Stephanie asked, freaking out. No way had Kurt just said that, they were just friends, he knew that, he KNEW that!  
  
"I said I'm going to be the next man you love, the one who's going to help you get over Hunter. Because I love you, Stephanie McMahon!" Kurt swooped down to kiss her but Stephanie saw it coming and managed to duck. She almost tripped over her skirt she was backing away so quickly.  
  
"Oh, my God! How the hell can you be doing this to me? We're friends Kurt, nothing more!"  
  
"Maybe not now, but we'll be more if you just gave me a chance." Kurt replied, reaching over to her and puckering his lips offensively again.  
  
Stephanie felt sick, and it was weird but she thought that maybe the baby was feeling kind of disgusted.her stomach was positively churning. She swallowed down the bile in her throat, determined to find out if Kurt was merely a lovesick fool who'd fallen for the wrong woman entirely.or a manipulative bastard who she'd been fool enough to trust. "Well, Kurt.stranger things have happened." She managed weakly. "And I do-I do feel close to you, you know, we have history." Oh, this tasted bad, bad, bad. Stephanie flushed guiltily, feeling as though she was betraying Hunter. But she wasn't, she wasn't because she was doing this for them, for their future together. She had to know what Kurt was-friend or foe?  
  
"Does that mean you're giving us a chance?" Kurt took her stunned silence for ascent, and happily pecked her on the cheek, not wanting to press his luck. Stephanie held in a shudder. "Let's just.we'll take it slowly, okay? But.I am willing to try." She said, but knowing full well that she'd never be able to look at Kurt the same way again. All this time, she thought the only feelings he'd had toward her were those of friendship, but now.she felt awkward in his presence, and worried that she had never even picked up on any signals. If she hadn't seen something as important as this.what else about Kurt Angle could she have missed? Was there no one in this damn world she could trust anymore?  
  
Hunter. You can trust Hunter..and probably no one else. She thought to herself. Hunter, whom she'd left to be preyed on by that blonde bunny in there. She hoped he was getting closer to finding out what had happened to him last night, she hoped she had bought him that much at least with their ruse. Stephanie looked back at the restaurant longingly.  
  
"Can I give you a ride back to your hotel?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Um, I-well, I came in Hunter's limo and-" Stephanie knew that to take a ride in Hunter's limo would blow their staged fight out of the water, and so she reluctantly climbed in Kurt's car. Thank God they were only fifteen minutes away from her hotel. And thank God Victor and Sam would be in the car with her. She'd seen her bodyguards hanging back, unsure of how to proceed. For the first time she was thankful of their presence and didn't feel like she was being intruded upon. She motioned them closer, they climbed in Kurt's rental car. So she wouldn't have to talk to him, she turned the dials on the radio. She refused to look at him, but felt him looking at her from time to time. She longed to wipe her mouth, it tasted like-like Kurt-she thought, disgusted, but she didn't want to be so obvious. She wondered why she'd found Kurt's kiss more distasteful than the few other times he had kissed her.She thought maybe it was the fact she'd just finished kissing Hunter when Kurt had dove in. It was sort of like going from filet mignon to ground chuck. The difference was huge.  
  
Hunter sat down heavily. Stacy cautiously followed suit, sitting across from him. Okay, it seemed a more subtle approach was called for here, he decided.  
  
Stephanie seemed so certain he hadn't slept with Stacy.he wished he could be. Hunter narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. There was a way. If Stacy was lying about this.she would be unbelievably sorry. And if she wasn't he was going to owe her yet another apology. He impulsively reached out for Stacy's hand.  
  
"Stace, I am so sorry. I keep leading you on, giving you signals.it's no wonder that you're so confused. I could never blame you. It's just- difficult to believe that I could ever forget sleeping with you. I think you'd be damn near unforgettable. You know what I mean?" Hunter intoned.  
  
Stacy meanwhile shook under his gaze. It felt like he was undressing her in his mind.and she loved it. Did she dare? Did she really dare to do this, after all the crap he'd put her through? Yeah, she dared. Good girls always did finish last, that was what momma had always said. "Hey, if you want.I would be more than happy to ah-refresh your memory." She purred.  
  
"I want to remember.I don't usually get drunk, I don't like that it can make a man so powerless. But if you said I was drinking, I must have been.probably didn't even realize I'd had that much to drink. I would be very,." Hunter stood, took two steps toward a still sitting Stacy so that his waist was directly parallel with her face, cupped her chin in his palm, caressed her cheek with his index finger. ".very grateful. Will you come with me?" He asked softly, extending his other hand. Stacy couldn't even speak, just nodded, her blue eyes huge.  
  
The waiter had come up at that point, promptly held out the bill and Hunter looked around helplessly. "I ah-my wallet was stolen this morning." He explained.  
  
"Mmm-hmm. Sure." The waiter sniffed, but fortunately Chad came up behind him and produced a credit card. "Here." Chad said.  
  
"You're a lifesaver, man. Remind me to give you a raise." Hunter clapped Chad on the back.  
  
"Sure thing, Mr. H." Chad said. "Are we leaving?" He signed the credit slip, they started walking out.  
  
"God, yes! Are you really going to come?" Stacy asked Hunter thickly.  
  
"I would think both of us would." Hunter said seductively, causing Stacy to swallow once she finally got his double meaning. She felt like she was on sensory overload. And it felt good. For once in her twenty-two years of life she was going to do what she wanted, not because it would help her get ahead in her career or expand her power-even though, being allied with Triple H himself certainly worked to her advantage in those aspects-but because she wanted to. She didn't care if he was on the rebound, she didn't care that he'd hurt her before, she knew that this was fate lending her a helping hand and she was going to take it, whatever the cost.  
  
"Where to?" Chad queried, holding open the door. Stacy climbed in first, loving that Hunter always traveled in style. Her kind of style. "Yeah, where to?" Hunter echoed.  
  
"We can always go back to the hotel."  
  
"No, Stace. Where were we last night? I told you I want to remember.make me remember, Stacy." He was hoping that she'd trip herself up somehow. And once she did, he'd be waiting. It was kind of sad how easily he had been able to make her stop hating him and start worshipping the ground he walked on once again.but he wasn't about to complain. It suited his purpose.  
  
Stacy's eyes widened even further. "Sure.I'll give you directions once we're going." She missed seeing Hunter's triumphant grin, too wrapped up in her own happy thoughts. 


	26. Chapter TwentySix

He hummed a jaunty little tune to himself softly as he worked, even as he kept a watch out for any unwelcome interruptions. He loosened the third screw.a couple more centimeters ought to do it.there. That should be perfect. If his plans for the McMahon family-one McMahon in particular, actually--were to come to fruition, there was a certain individual who he needed out of his way.and this was the perfect opportunity to accomplish that task. It wouldn't kill the man.just disable him long enough to make a difference. This hell in the cell match truly was going to be worthy of its name tonight. He stood up, his long legs aching from sitting on the floor for so long working on the Cage.  
  
"Hey, man! You gotta be careful.the cage is a delicate thing. We need to be careful with it. It's has to be set up exactly right." Nicole, one of the stagehands hurried up to him. He evaluated the young stagehand's expressions and quickly determined that she hadn't seen anything untoward. He smiled down at the girl. "Oh, I wasn't touching anything. I was just looking around for Chris Jericho. I need to speak with him."  
  
"I think he was in the cafeteria, last I saw him. He was working on his computer."  
  
"Thank you." This was perfect.he couldn't have set this up better himself.  
  
"Of course." The stagehand started hanging the WWF banners around the ring, never noticing that the Cage which was about to be raised had been tampered with. After all, she and her team had just finished inspecting it.although Rod should've stayed with the cage. It was normal policy the Cage was never left unattended. Rod came jogging up behind Nicole. "Hey.let's get this baby raised, huh? We need to set up in the back after we're done." She decided not to say anything to Rod, it wasn't like it had been alone for too long. "Sure thing." They used the pulleys to lift the Cage over the ring. "It's going to be a great match tonight, huh? Hunter and Chris in the Cage.for the title no less! Who's your money on?" Nicole asked as they pulled.  
  
"You really got to ask?" Rod grunted with the effort.  
  
"No, I guess not. Hunter, right?"  
  
"Damn straight."  
  
Nicole laughed. "I think I agree, no way is he going to lose the title tonight." They secured the cage. "You want to grab a bite?"  
  
"Sounds great, Nikki." They walked up the ramp together satisfied with a job well done.  
  
Chris Jericho bit on his sandwich as he finished checked his e-mail. He was just about to shut down his computer when there was a little ding that meant he'd been IM'd. He flipped the screen back up and looked at the message curiously.  
  
Mr. Jericho?  
  
Chris shoved the sandwich in his mouth and typed: Yeah?  
  
I have some important news for you.  
  
Yeah, what's that? Chris typed.  
  
Something that could get you what you covet most: The Undisputed Championship.  
  
Chris froze, looked around the room for the jackass who was messing with him.  
  
Who is this? He typed angrily.  
  
It doesn't matter.  
  
I think it does.  
  
Do you want the Championship, or not?  
  
What exactly are you talking about here? Chris pounded in on the keyboard.  
  
It's really very simple.  
  
What is?  
  
All you have to do is get Hunter to one certain part of the cage.and then I promise you'll win your Championship.  
  
Chris looked around the room frantically, starting to get freaked out. What was this bozo talking about exactly? He typed the question.  
  
Simple. You and Hunter get in the Cage. You are the only one who will be able to walk out of it. Do you understand now?  
  
Chris swallowed. What they were talking about.this was serious. He inhaled deeply, looking around a third time, this time to make sure no one was watching him. He tapped his hand on the table still deliberating.  
  
Are you still there? The question popped up. Chris wasn't sure if he should answer. He could just close the laptop, pretend this entire conversation had never happened. His hand reached out to do just that and that was when he realized something:  
  
He really, really wanted the Championship.  
  
And he really, really hated Hunter. And given the chance, he had no doubt Hunter would screw him over any day of the week. Gradually, he rose the lid. He typed the words slowly:  
  
Yeah, I'm here.what do I have to do? He paused, and then hit return. "Kurt, it was nice of you to walk me to my door, but Victor and Sam were perfectly able to do so.they're getting paid quite well to do so, actually." Stephanie told Kurt, refusing to slide the key into the lock before Kurt had backed off at least a little. She didn't want to invite him in, but she needed to drag the truth out of him somehow....To her surprise, Kurt grabbed the key from her hand and held open the door. Irritated that he just refused to take a hint, Stephanie marched past him and walked straight over to the mini fridge. Kurt escorted Sam and Victor over to the adjoining room. They looked at Stephanie helplessly, and she nodded that it was allright. Victor left the door open a couple of inches though. Kurt might be a jerk but she really didn't believe he was stalking her family.he was too uptight for anything of that sort. She pulled out an orange juice and studied it for any puncture marks. She twisted open the top and decided to hope for the best. Stephanie settled down on the plush bed and looked warily at Kurt. She was even more unsettled when he came and sat down right next to her. She practically flew off of the bed, and went over to the fridge saying: "Oh, I've been so rude.I haven't even offered you anything to drink. Um, I have.liquor, coffee, water, tea, juice.." Stephanie trailed off when she saw Kurt looking at her with a funny expression on his face.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Stephanie asked Kurt.  
  
"I don't know, Stephanie.you tell me." Kurt said.  
  
  
  
Motel Four Miles Outside of Houston  
  
"Stacy, I don't know what planet you're living on but this isn't the same room I woke up in this morning." Hunter said angrily, folding his arms across.  
  
"Well, then you were even drunker than I thought, because this is for sure the same room." Stacy said definitively. She casually walked over to the small radio on the nightstand, fiddled with the knobs. She grinned when she heard the song, one of her favorites.it was fate, she decreed.  
  
She's got you wrapped up in her satin and lace  
  
Tied around her little finger  
  
She got you thinkin' you can never escape  
  
Don't you know your hearts in danger  
  
There's a devil in that angel's face  
  
If you could only see the love that you're wasting  
  
I can love you better than that  
  
I know how to make you forget her  
  
All I'm asking is for one little chance  
  
Cause baby, I can love you baby, I can love you better  
  
"Stacy.the bed was over there. He pointed to the right side of the room where the bed was conspicuously absent. Hunter found himself in a curious state between fury and laughter..it was kind of hilarious how Stacy was trying to convince him they were in the same room despite the fact that the entire layout of the room was different. Hunter sank down into a chair and cringed when the springs squeaked and he felt the bottom of the chair collapse. "Oh, son of a-" he tried to lift himself out of the chair but it was well and truly collapsed and his ass was on the floor.  
  
  
  
I'm gonna break the spell she's got on you  
  
You're gonna wake up to find  
  
I'm your desire my intentions are true  
  
Hey babe, I know in time  
  
You're gonna see what you mean to me  
  
So open up your eyes cause seeing is believing  
  
"Oh, gosh." Stacy burst out laughing, walking over to him as he futilely tried to pull himself up. She knelt down beside him and said softly: "Well, at least now-" she kissed him on the cheek,-"I have you"-behind his earlobe,-"exactly"-further down the neck, "where I want you." Hunter stared back at Stacy, redoubling his efforts to get himself out of the chair.  
  
I can love you better than that  
  
I know how to make you forget her  
  
All I'm asking is for one little chance  
  
Cause baby, I can love you baby, I can love you better  
  
  
  
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Stephanie said as she turned her back to Kurt tensely.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, you do. The whole ride back here, you were really quiet and-"  
  
"Well, that's just because, with the bodyguards and everything, I just didn't feel comfortable speaking to you." Stephanie said smoothly.  
  
"Are you sure that's all there is to it?"  
  
"Well, what else could there possibly be?" Stephanie asked nervously, still trying to open up her orange juice's protective seal underneath the cap. Finally she dug a nail in and ripped it open.  
  
"I don't know. I thought maybe it was my saying that I wanted to try and build.a relationship with you. You said that if we took it slowly, you would be open to the idea. I want to know if you're serious about that."  
  
Hell, no. I wouldn't touch you with a two by four if I could help it. But she couldn't very well say that.at least not yet. She had to find out exactly what Kurt was up to. Which meant that she'd have to try and stop being so jumpy around him and put on a good show of it in front of him. Stephanie sat down on the bed, took off her shoes, crossed her legs together.at least her skirt was long. She looked at him expectantly, swallowing her orange juice.  
  
"Steph, I-" Her watch started beeping. "Oh, vitamin time!" She trilled.  
  
"You have your watch set for vitamins?" Kurt asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, yeah. I'm always so busy, especially being back in the WWF again. But this is really important for the baby, I guess, so I wanted to be sure I'd always remember. This is the one way I can be sure." She pulled out her pill and downed it with her juice.  
  
"This kid.it means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Kurt said slowly.  
  
"This baby means everything to me." Stephanie returned seriously. "Right now, my biggest priority is making sure that my baby has everything it could ever need to make him happy." And that included getting his daddy to see the light and come home to them. But she was well on her way to that end, she thought happily.he loved her. He said he loved her. She had replayed their entire conversation at the restaurant over and over in her mind the ride over to the hotel, growing more and more ecstatic by the mile. She had her husband back. Now all she had to do was tell him two things: he was still her husband and they were having a baby. She refused to get depressed about those two little things though, he'd be mad but she'd make him so happy he'd soon get over it.  
  
But there was still the task at hand: Finding out what Kurt was up to, if anything.  
  
"I just want you to know, that your being pregnant.it doesn't change the way I feel about you." And it didn't. It probably would, if he was truly in love with her, but fortunately, he just wanted her.this kid better not get in the way of what he wanted though. He'd had enough of being the most talented guy in this business and still not having all the breaks. Being with Stephanie would certainly change all of that though.he just had to make sure all of her attention and devotion was where it belonged: solely on him.  
  
"Ah, well.Can't tell you just how glad I am to hear that." Stephanie said dully. "Kurt?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, I was just still wondering about you and Stacy, at the restaurant today. I mean, how exactly did that come about?"  
  
"I did mention how great she's been, right? She's really helped me out since my injuries. She's a true friend. But don't worry Steph, there's nothing more to it, I promise. Not like her and Hunter. I know that's got to hurt."  
  
"It's not like it really matters either way." Stephanie said casually, picking up an imaginary piece of lint from the skirt. She felt Kurt's attention sharpen on her.  
  
"It really doesn't matter to you? That Stacy slept with Hunter?"  
  
She cringed at the way the words sounded. It made her sick even to picture it. "No, not at all. Were you not at the restaurant this afternoon at all? Hunter and I are so finished.this was just the last straw, the final nail in his coffin. I meant what I said. I can do much better than him. I think I'm off to a good start, don't you?" She reached out and playfully swiped at his shoulder. Kurt smiled.  
  
"You sure are." He pulled her down on top of him on the bed. Stephanie swallowed hard, rolled off of him and lay on her side. "You haven't even answered my question." She teased gently.  
  
"When I'm with you, any thought I'm having seems to fly right out the window."  
  
Stephanie tried not to gag. He was so insufferable when he was trying to be romantic. Kurt and the tender arts..not a winning combination. She choked down the bile in her throat, smiled sweetly and twirled a long strand of hair around her finger. Kurt reached over and grabbed her hand.  
  
"You're still wearing your ring! Why?" Kurt demanded.  
  
"Hey, you're hurting me!" But his grip only tightened.  
  
"Why are you still wearing your ring.if you're so over Hunter, why do you still wear his ring?"  
  
"The thing won't come off!" Stephanie snapped. "Now. Let. The. Hell. Go. Of. My. Hand! Or you can get the hell out of my hotel room."  
  
Kurt dropped her hand. "I'm sorry...it just threw me, that's all." He muttered.  
  
"That's no excuse." She said, but immediately softened her tone. "But it's allright. I understand. I wish the thing would come off, but it just doesn't seem to want to."  
  
That was a bad way to phrase it, she thought. She hastily continued. "But let's just change the subject, come on.what exactly are you doing with Stacy Keibler?" She kept the question light, teasing, not wanting to arouse any suspicions.  
  
"Why, are you jealous?" Kurt asked, leaning on his side to face her now on the bed.  
  
"Maybe." She teased coyly. "Should I be?"  
  
"Steph, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It's Hunter Stacy wants, I promise you that. She has a major thing for him.kind of an obsession, really."  
  
"You don't say." Stephanie said, seething. It was nothing she hadn't known already, of course, but to hear the words from someone else just really made it hit home.  
  
"Yeah..and I really can't think of two people who deserve each other more. Actually, Stacy deserves better, but hey, it keeps him away from you and that's all I really want."  
  
"Mmm-hmm. Obsession, though.that's such a strong word, Kurt. Do you really think Stacy is obsessed with Hunter?" She asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.  
  
"I really don't know any other word to use. He's played her at every turn but she keeps coming back up and begging for more. If that's not an unhealthy obsession, I just don't know what the hell is."  
  
"I guess so.but how far would she go?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"How far would Stacy go.to get Hunter?" To sink her pathetic little claws into him? She asked silently.  
  
"Why all the questions?" Kurt asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice.  
  
She knew she was pushing too hard, but damn it! She wanted to get to the bottom of all of this.  
  
"I'm just curious, I suppose. Plus, if she's scheming against him, I need to know."  
  
Kurt sat up frowning. "Oh, you do? Why exactly is that, Stephanie? I-" He started to say that he'd heard her in the restaurant, hanging all over Hunter and his little proclamation of love, but he didn't want to tip her off that he'd been eavesdropping. "-thought you didn't give a flying leap anymore." He finished.  
  
"No, nothing like that, of course not, Kurt!" Stephanie pretended outrage. "I am my father's assistant, Hunter is the Undisputed Champion.it's business. If Stacy's doing something, I need to know so that I can properly evaluate its impact on my company. You understand, don't you?"  
  
"Yes. Yes, I do.I have to say it's a relief to see you and your incredible business acumen making a comeback. "  
  
"Thank you, I think it's rather great myself." Stephanie grinned.  
  
"And to that end, let me just say.." Kurt walked over to the mini fridge and grabbed his own orange juice. He knocked it against Stephanie's bottle- " to the beginning of an absolutely unstoppable force. It's about damn time you woke up and saw what's been in front of you all this time." Stephanie echoed, pasting on a smile. What a jackass.  
  
  
  
"Haven't you heard that resistance is futile?"  
  
"What are you, a Trekkie?" Hunter asked desperately. Damn this chair! Had.to.get.up!  
  
"I will confess to a little crush on Captain Picard.it must be the voice, don't you think? I'm helpless to men with great voices, I think that's one of the reasons I can't get myself over you."  
  
"Oh, God." Hunter muttered, finally getting some traction and hauling himself out of the collapsed chair. He slid up and out onto the floor. Stacy sat astride his legs, causing him to look up at her. Rather than ask her to move, which he didn't believe she was about to do, he picked her up. He lifted her up as easily as if she were made of air and sat her down on the bed.  
  
"Ooh, man of few words, huh?" Stacy teased, vamping a pose on the bed.  
  
"Oh, God." He repeated. He remained standing. "Stacy, I feel the need to go over a couple of things with you." He said, running his hand through his hair agitatedly.  
  
"Yes, Hunter?" Stacy asked sweetly.  
  
"Okay, you know I can't remember.having sex with you last night. I told you I wanted for you to help me to remember, you said you'd bring me back to the room we had last night. This isn't the room."  
  
"That's just semantics!" Stacy sputtered.  
  
"Semantics? Semantics? Stacy! I-you-!" Hunter reined in his temper before he started yelling. "Stacy, please explain to me how not being in the same room is just semantics?"  
  
"Well, to tell you the truth, I couldn't get the same room. It was being used." She lied quickly. After all, she didn't want him actually remembering that nothing had in fact happened.and he probably would have been more likely to remember if the environment had been recreated in its entirety. "And we don't even need that stupid old room to make your memory come back. After all, you have me. And I assure you.I'm unforgettable, like you said earlier. So.." Stacy slid off of the bed, startling Hunter, but to his relief, she walked right past him. Then she turned off the lights and fiddled with the radio. A seductive melody began to play.  
  
"Sit down." She invited, pointing to the bed. He sat down, trying to concentrate on her voice, on her face..anything to help him remember. "Well, it's not exactly perfect, but.I certainly can't complain about the company." She giggled.  
  
Hunter froze. That laugh..it was the same laugh! It was her, it had been Stacy who he'd been with last night. Shit. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to focus the memory. Nothing. He opened his eyes again, looked up. Stacy smiled down at him, pulling her hair behind her face. He smiled back, reached up and pulled her hands into his and pulled her underneath him on the bed. He looked down at her face. "So, Stace..make me remember." He whispered.  
  
"Uh-Okay." She squeaked. "Um, I guess the first thing to do would probably be to kiss."  
  
"Kiss?"  
  
"Well, that is how these things generally start out, you know."  
  
Hunter shrugged. He grinned when he thought about how much he was going to enjoy telling Stephanie all about the 'sacrifice' he was making on her behalf. Oh, the things men do for love, he thought, leaning in to kiss Stacy.  
  
He pulled back after he was certain she was well and truly distracted. "So who was the guy in the room last night?" he asked quickly, throwing her off her guard.and it worked.  
  
"Just Kurt." She murmured. Her eyes opened wide, her lips swollen from the kiss. "Hey! What the hell are you trying to pull?!"  
  
But for some reason, the mention of Kurt's name focused Hunter on the voices he had heard.and now he was remembering words. He remembered..he remembered. Hunter's eyes opened slowly.  
  
Stacy had been looking at him rather accusatorily, but seeing the hardened expression now on his face, quickly adopted a more concerned look.  
  
"Hunter?" She asked quietly. "Um, are you okay?"  
  
  
  
Kurt settled back onto the bed. "You know, I always knew it was only a matter of time before you came around." He said confidently.  
  
"Is that so?" Stephanie asked. This was good for her, she told herself. Being with Kurt like this, it was good, because it was helping her with anger management. If she could survive the rest of this conversation without seriously injuring him, she could get through anything without losing her cool.  
  
"Definitely. Hunter's a caveman, a Neanderthal. You need a man who's like you, who appreciates the finer things in life..not to mention someone you don't have to be afraid to bring out in public."  
  
"You don't say.." Stephanie seethed. When he wanted to be, Hunter was the classiest man she'd ever met. At least he wasn't a whining, sniveling little crapweasel like Kurt. She had to physically bite her tongue.  
  
"But now you've seen the light, it's taken a lot longer than I thought it would, sure, but hey, it's never too late. And now you finally know that Hunter is nothing but a classless, worthless jerk-off who isn't worthy to breathe the same air as you."  
  
It was taking every single ounce of self-restraint not to pop Kurt one. She opened her mouth to agree vaguely, but she couldn't form the words. She didn't need to, Kurt was more than happy to keep talking for the both of them.  
  
"I mean let's face it. Hunter was probably some youthful animalistic physical attraction right? Not to mention it drove Vince insane to think of his precious little girl at the mercy of some degenerate, am I right or am I right?" Kurt said arrogantly.  
  
"You're-you're" An asshole. You're abhorrent. A moron. An idiot. "absolutely right." She finished. "Hunter really had me turned upside down there for a while.I didn't even know which way was up. But thankfully, I've seen him for what he really is.and Stacy will too."  
  
"Let's not talk about Stacy anymore." Kurt drawled.  
  
Good. Then I can kick you the hell out of here and call Hunter. Moron. Aloud, she said: "Okay then.I just wanted to be sure that there were no surprises in store.I'm trying to really restore this company again. Having a champion who is.well, let's just say 'in disgrace' is not exactly conducive to business. But if you don't know anything, you don't know anything." She shrugged it off, starting to stand. She was startled when Kurt pulled her back down on the bed.  
  
"I know it was the animalistic attraction that kept you with Hunter for these two years.."  
  
Animalistic attraction?! Where the fuck did he come up with this bullshit? She wondered.  
  
"..but you know as well as I do that I can more than substitute."  
  
Stephanie froze underneath Kurt's stare. Oh, God, no. She didn't want him to start talking about it again, they had already talked it to death eight months ago. She had tried to pretend it had never happened and for the most part, had succeeded admirably.  
  
"Steph, ever since last November you've acted differently around me. I've tried to ignore it, I've tried to be your friend, but now you're acting weird again, like you were right after it happened. I thought you wanted to forget about it, and even though that's not what I wanted, I've tried. But I can't help it anymore, Stephanie. I can't just ignore the fact that eight months ago we made love." Kurt told her.  
  
"Look, we've already talked about this. Don't you get that I don't even want to discuss it at all? It's-it's a non-issue! Kurt, it was Hunter's and my anniversary and he wouldn't even speak to me, it was like I didn't even exist for him anymore, he was so damn busy with his rehab on his leg. And I tried everything, he didn't care and.I was hurt. I wanted to hurt him, and that's why.that's why I slept with you, Kurt. There was nothing else to it though, it was just sex."  
  
"But that couldn't have been all there was to it, Stephanie! I know you, I know you wouldn't have just slept with me for the heck of it-"  
  
"But that's exactly what I did! You know that! Kurt, we discussed this to death months ago. I told you that I was committed to my marriage, committed to Hunter and it was a mistake." One that she'd regret for the rest of her entire life, she knew. Sleeping with Kurt had been the single stupidest thing she'd ever done..of course, the whole baby lie had been a close second. Not to mention buying ECW, coming so close to marrying Andrew..God, she'd done a lot of stupid things in her life, but the one thing she'd ever done that hadn't had any positive repercussions whatsoever had to have been when she'd slept with Kurt late last year. She'd been drunk, on her anniversary, stood up by her husband, she'd been depressed, and she'd been hurting.Kurt had just been there, completely in the right place at the wrong time for her. She wanted to hate him for taking advantage when she was vulnerable, but she accepted that she'd been stupid enough to turn to him in the first place. It had been the single most horrible experience of her life, and she'd gone crazy the next morning thinking Hunter would find out, he'd leave her for good. So she'd begged Kurt to forget all about it and pretend it had never happened. She liked to pretend she hadn't really been that stupid, that it had all been just some really bad nightmare. To his credit, he hadn't brought it up since. Until now.  
  
"Why are you talking about this now?" She whispered up to him, starting to cry. He couldn't tell Hunter, Hunter could never know.she'd made so many mistakes and he had forgiven her today. This would just screw it all up.  
  
"Why are you crying?" Kurt asked.  
  
Because I hate you, I hate you.and I don't want to remember the worst, lowest night of my life. Is that good enough for you Kurt, you jerk? She longed to scream. "I don't know. I just-hormones. Pregnancy. All that." She said sadly.  
  
"I know why. Remembering, it overwhelms you. It does that to me too. That night, it was amazing, I know. And I've been wanting to repeat it ever since." Oh, God. This wasn't happening. He couldn't actually think that.she had enjoyed it. He couldn't possibly be that delusional! But he was...  
  
"Kurt, stop it." She whispered, starting to sob. Damn him, why was he rehashing all of this? Why couldn't he just have blocked it out, like she had done? She didn't want to remember that horrible, sinking feeling she'd had when she had awakened the next morning...to find Kurt next to her in the bed. She didn't want to remember the bile rising in her throat when she thought about Hunter's reaction if he ever found out about this complete and utter betrayal of their vows.  
  
"Why? It's what we both want, isn't it?"  
  
"No, I don't. I want you to stop. I need-I need to think about things now." But he was still on top of her, caressing her thigh..  
  
"Kurt, get away from-from me." She choked out, pushing at him. He simply held her tighter, pulling her hair harshly into his hand. It hurt, it stung.  
  
She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't take this anymore. "Get out!" She screamed, finally snapping and losing it. With almost inhuman strength, she shoved him off of her and onto the floor. The adjoining bedroom door swung open and Sam came out. Victor followed suit.  
  
"Please make him go away." Stephanie said, gasping, choking, crying, glad the bodyguard was finally earning his keep.  
  
"Steph? What the- Steph?" Kurt asked incredulously. But Sam and Victor escorted him out. "What the hell kind of game are you playing?" Kurt yelled. "We are going to talk about this Stephanie. And let me tell you one thing! If somehow, some way you are still clinging on to the delusion that you actually still want that s.o.b., how do you think he's going to feel when he finds out about us? I won't stay quiet, not anymore! You can't just screw with me like this, Stephanie!" Kurt shouted as Sam and Victor finally got him out of the door. Stephanie fled to the other bedroom. Then she realized she had to throw up and ran for the bathroom.  
  
When she felt like she'd thrown up every single thing she'd ever eaten in his entire life, Stephanie stroked her stomach in a circular motion. "Well, at least I didn't sleep with anybody but daddy four months ago, huh? We both are really, really happy about that, let me tell you." She told the baby. "But I somehow don't think your father's going to be as relieved. Everyone calls me a slut.a whore. I never thought it was true. Neither did your father.he was the only one who ever defended me. And it wasn't true, at least not before. I hope your father doesn't hate me after he finds out. I'm so sorry..I didn't mean to. It was all just a horrible, horrible night. Do you think he might forgive me?" She whispered, somehow feeling better just talking to her baby. 


	27. Chapters TwentySevenThirtyThree

**Chapter 27**

Hunter Hearst-Helmsley groaned loudly as he blinked in the sunlight filtering in through the curtains. "What the fuck?" he cursed as he rolled onto his side-and promptly fell off the bed. Hunter heaved himself off the floor-and that was when he realized he was naked. "What the fuck?" He said again, looking down at himself in horror. Where the hell where his clothes?  
  
There were a thousand other questions coming to the fore in his mind. Like, where was he? What was he doing here? How had he gotten here…he hadn't even had any alcohol last night…and it would have taken quite a bit to get him to this state of being. Who the hell had he been with last night? He vaguely remember a brunette….and he remembered seeing Stephanie….but Stephanie couldn't have been here, she was in New York with Linda. So that must have been some kind of hallucination, right? Hunter buried his throbbing head in his hands.   
  
He glanced at the clock beside the bed...10:28 a.m. What had happened last night? Why did he feel like he'd been hit with a two by four? His mouth tasted like cotton and copper. And why did he remember blinding flashes of light and loud clicking noises…and laughter. He remember laughing, a woman's laugh….it sounded so familiar. A soft hand, running down his body...the feeling of long hair trailing down his chest. There had been someone else there....a man...he was familiar too. His forehead scrunched up in an effort to recall.  
  
Had he spent the night with some woman he didn't even remember? Hunter looked around the room for clues…there were no pictures, no papers, not much of anything, really….and worst of all, he couldn't even find an article of his clothing. Or any clothing, for that matter.  
  
He had to get the hell out of here, and he had to do it now. Hunter wrapped the bed sheet around him and peered around the bed. His wallet…come on, let them at least have left his damn wallet! But all he found was a crumpled picture underneath one of the blankets. He unfolded it shakily. It was a picture of Stephanie that he'd never gotten around to getting rid of…it was one of his favorite pictures of her. She was standing in front of a gorgeous Appaloosa, the wind blowing her hair in front of her face. She had been pulling it aside, laughing, when he had spontaneously snapped the picture. Hunter tucked it in a corner of the bed sheet and opened up the door cautiously. He looked around both corners and fled down the hallway, taking the steps by twos. He ended up outside the building without anyone noticing him. And that's when he realized that a car had squealed to a stop right in front of him. It had missed him by an inch. Hunter's eyes widened at the close call.   
  
A young girl got out of the car screaming at him for jumping out right in front of her. She was being quite inventive in her cursing, Hunter thought. Then she slowly took of her sunglasses and stared.  
  
"Holy…You're Triple H!" She squeaked.  
  
"Hi. Um, sorry about that…I was just kind of in a hurry. Like you can probably tell." He said gesturing down to the sheet.  
  
"Yeah…about that…where are your clothes?"  
  
"I guess I must have ticked someone off 'cause they're long gone, so I don't know."   
  
"Whoa. Did Stephanie do this to you? I would totally love to meet her! Is she around?"  
  
"I don't know that either…listen, I really have to get going, so you know, it's been a riot, really…."  
  
"Go where? You're about four miles outside of Houston…gonna be a long, hot walk in that little sheet." The girl smiled.  
  
"What's your name?" Hunter asked abruptly, trying desperately to get this conversation under control.  
  
"Lily. And don't change the subject, do you even have a car here?"  
  
"No…."  
  
"Well, then, I guess I'll have to give you a ride won't I?" Somehow Lily didn't seem the least put off by this turn of events. "You've got a title match with Jericho tonight, huh? Probably not the best move to party so hard the night before." She said with just the slightest hint of admonishment in her tone. "And what would your wife say?"  
  
Hunter looked at her slack-jawed. "Ex-wife." He corrected.   
  
"Yeah, right. Anyways, climb on in. Hey, do you mind if we stop at my friend Jamie's house? She's going to just die when she finds out I met you when you're naked."  
  
"I'm not naked…."  
  
"It's a sheet, it's naked. This is so damn cool! Get in already, won't you?"  
  
Hunter stared up at the sky, helplessly. Every single time he thought he couldn't sink any further, he somehow did. But it wasn't like he had other options here. Checking to ensure the sheet was firmly in place, he walked around the side of Lily's car and sat down heavily. She got back in after him and looking behind her shoulder, peeled out of the lot.   
  
"This totally rocks….isn't it funny the way fate works? I mean, I wasn't even supposed to come out here today but my Gram needed me to pick up some stuff out here, and here I am and here you are….this is so damn cool! I'm in a car with Triple H! Triple H is in my car…and he's naked! Ahhhh!" Lily pounded her steering wheel in excitement, causing Hunter to cringe.  
  
"I'm not naked, I am in a towel." He said defensively.  
  
"Oh, of course you are!" Lily reached out to pat him on the shoulder and then looked back at him. "Wow, that is really hard muscle." She squeezed, causing Hunter to look at her in amazement…you just didn't go around feeling people up! Granted, this was an…unusual situation, but that didn't mean you went around feeling people up!  
  
"So do you mind if we go to Jamie's?" Lily asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, well, it's like you said…I do have that match tonight…maybe I could just give you a picture? Or an autograph?…..I take it you're a WWF fan?"  
  
"Huh? Me? No. My boyfriend is like, the biggest fan ever, and in order to see him every now and again, I became one too. He watches for the wrestling, he has every single event memorized, he can tell you entire title histories complete with dates. He's a real dork that way. Me, I just watch because I love you and Edge and RVD and even Christian…I have a thing for guys with long blonde hair. You know? My boyfriend doesn't have long blonde hair, which really sucks and I've told him maybe he should color it blonde….like I'd do it for him, you know, if he wanted me too…." Lily continued talking, but Hunter managed to block it out. He leaned his forehead against the window, one hand clutching his sheet like a lifeline.  
  
He was seriously considering jumping out of the car. 

**Chapter 28**

_It's been nine days, eight hours  
Forty minutes, ten seconds  
Since you called  
I've been so crazy  
I've just about  
Taken our picture   
Off the wall  
  
It's been three months  
Over a hundred days  
Since you held my hand  
And I miss you in  
A thousand ways  
  
Will I ever see you again?  
  
How did it change so fast? (I won't give you To the past)  
I really thought it'd last ….  
  
All that we had was  
So un-believ-able  
  
Now that it's gone  
It's just in-con-ceivable  
  
Still in my dreams  
You were so damn beautiful  
  
How could it be  
That you ruined my  
  
Everything  
Everything  
Everything?   
Everything  
Everything  
Everything ….  
  
It seems like  
Everyone everywhere's in love  
  
So, where are you?  
And I remember  
  
You couldn't get enough  
Said you felt it too  
So didn't you ?  
  
How did it change so fast? (I won't give you To the past)  
I really thought it'd last   
  
All that we had was  
So un-believ-able  
Now that it's gone  
It's just in-con-ceivable  
Still in my dreams  
You were so damn beautiful  
How could it be  
That you ruined my  
Everything  
Everything  
Everything?   
Everything  
Everything  
Everything   
  
Everything, everything, everything  
Everything, everything, everything   
Ooh, hooh  
You're really my everything  
Everything, everything  
Everything, everything, everything   
Everything, everything, everything  
Everything, everything, everything  
Everything, everything, everything  
Everything, everything, everything   
  
It's been nine days, eight hours  
Forty minutes, ten seconds  
Three months, a hundred days  
  
And I miss you in  
A thousand ways   
  
All that we had was  
So un-believ-able  
Now that it's gone  
It's just in-conceiv-able  
Still in my dreams  
You were so damn beautiful  
How could it be  
That you ruined my  
Everything  
Everything  
Everything?   
Everything  
Everything  
Everything   
_  
  
_Houston__, __Texas  
  
"I think this one is definitely the best….see? His eyes look like they maybe could be open." Stacy said, holding up the photograph critically.  
  
"Mmm. I see what you mean. But what about this one?" Kurt asked holding up a photograph for Stacy's approval.  
  
"No way…that one makes me look fat."  
  
"What?" Kurt demanded.  
  
"I said, it makes me look fat…see? My leg looks a little flabby…the angle is completely wrong."  
  
"You're kidding me, right? Please tell me you're kidding." Kurt pleaded.  
  
"I most definitely am not! If we're really going to do what you said, I want to look damn good in the photos…like in this one. See? I call it 'Rapturous Passion.'  
  
"You have names for the pictures now?" Kurt asked incredulously, his voice squeaking a bit.  
  
"Of course…it helps me keep track. Now, see, this one, you can plainly tell Hunter is not even awake, so I call it 'Sleeping Stupid.' And this one? Hunter's foot is sticking out over the bed, so I call it 'Big Foot.' And this one, this one is……whoo, Kurt. We both look really hot in this one, don't you think? It really looks like we're doing it." Stacy said wistfully, looking down at the picture.  
  
It really was too bad all of these photos were of something that never really happened. It made her kind of depressed….and angry, because they could have, SHOULD have happened. This could have been us, Stacy told the Hunter in the photo silently. But you just had to be a jerk, and now, you're going to get hurt when….you could have had it all. Stacy wiped away a tear angrily, hoping that Kurt hadn't noticed. He hadn't, he was still looking at one of the photographs. Stacy could almost see the little wheels turning in Kurt's huge head. He snorted, choking on his water. "Man, in this one, Hunter's nose looks even huger than it does in real life…hadn't thought it was possible."  
  
Stacy rolled her eyes. Kurt was sometimes so petty…he had to belittle any little thing wrong he ever thought he saw. To her, Hunter's nose reminded her of Roman nobles….very aristocratic. Here Kurt, Mr. Clean himself, was making fun of someone, and in her own humble opinion he actually shouldn't be throwing stones at glass houses.  
  
He was a horribly insecure man. She figured that was why he hadn't really gotten as far as he would have liked in his career. He spent so much time worrying what others thought of him, he didn't focus on the things that really mattered. Like kicking ass and taking names. Like he-who-must-not-be-named did.  
  
Stacy sighed, picked up another photo. Kurt looked up at Stacy in annoyance. "I can tell your heart isn't exactly into this…but you seemed like you were having a jolly good time of it last night."  
  
That was because she had been with Hunter. Naked Hunter. How could she not have been having at least a little fun with it? "Kurt, just because I'm not jumping up and down doesn't mean that I'm not happy with the plan. So back off, allright?"  
  
"Stacy, it cost me a thousand dollars to pay off Cassandra Wexler, get her to put that stuff in Hunter's drink….so just pick out a damn photo!"  
  
"It was stupid to pay her so much."  
  
"Well, we don't want her spilling to anyone, now do we?"  
  
"Well, for a thousand bucks she really had better not." Stacy said distantly. "And how on earth did you know where Hunter was last night….how did you get Cassandra Wexler to help us?"  
  
"I have my ways." Kurt said mysteriously.  
  
"Yeah? Like what? Who on earth could've told you where Hunter was? The only people he was with were Shawn and Kevin… and either of them would've rather drive a nail into their foreheads than ever talk to you."  
  
Kurt stiffened indignantly. "I didn't need either of those two buffoons…I've got someone much, much better. You see, Stacy, if you can't beat 'em…bribe 'em."   
  
Stacy leaned forward. "So you do have someone close to Hunter helping you then? Who?"   
  
"You'll find out soon enough. But right now, we have work to do. So Stacy?"  
  
"Hmm?"   
  
"Pick a freaking photo already!" Kurt snapped.  
  
  
_Stephanie's Room in the Delta Hotel, ___Houston  
  
  
"I'm being ridiculous!" Stephanie told the reflection in her mirror. She had changed clothes for the sixth time that morning. But she wanted to look as good as she possibly could. She hadn't seen Hunter in a week, since that awful day in the hospital. Why was it always so important to her that she look her best around him? Maybe it was because she wanted him to be proud to be her husband…like she had always been so proud to call herself "Mrs. Hunter Hearst-Helmsley." But screw this. She was going to drive herself insane. "I look fine." She told the reflection. But 'fine' wasn't good enough. Never good enough. She went back to her suitcase, rummaged around. She didn't want to wear a short skirt, but she didn't feel like pants either. It was too warm outside. She found a long, deep blue velvet skirt, tried it on. Perfect. It brought out her eyes, she thought. Stephanie threw on a pair of sunglasses, and headed out of her hotel room. The two bodyguards she had brought with her from New York, Victor and Sam fell into position behind her.  
  
  
_Outside The Delta Hotel, ___Houston__, __Texas  
  
  
"Thanks again, Lily." Hunter said as she dropped him off at his hotel. As they had promised on his cell phone call to them a few minutes earlier, Shawn and Kevin were waiting outside. Kevin had a big paper bag. They stared as the car pulled up. Kevin looked down in the car, saw Hunter in his sheet and started choking. He wordlessly handed Hunter the bag. It took some delicate shifting but Hunter managed to pull on the pair of sweat pants without dislodging the sheet all the way. Lily tried to hide her disappointment…Jamie would have died if she knew she'd seen Triple H's…747. Lily bit back a giggle. "Thanks for the autograph. And you've got my address right? I really would love that autographed picture of you." She asked hopefully.  
  
"Yeah, I got it. I'll send it out first thing. And I would really appreciate it if you could maybe…not mention this to many people?"  
  
"Sure, no prob. Just my boyfriend. And Jamie, of course, cause she's just gonna die! And maybe…" Hunter groaned and pulled on his shirt and shoes. He climbed out of the car, leaving Lily still listing off people.  
  
"You say one word about this, either of you, I swear I will kill you." Hunter threatened, and meant every single word.  
  
Shawn miraculously kept from laughing, but Kevin was all but doubled over.   
  
"Hey, man, wait up…" Shawn called as Hunter marched toward the entrance to the hotel. "Don't you want the sheet? You know, as a souvenir?" He guffawed.  
  
Hunter refused to look back, but he heard their footfalls as they trailed after him toward the hotel. He had a nasty headache, he was trying to remember what exactly had happened last night…and only a couple of things had crystallized. For one thing, he knew that he hadn't been alone. There had been a woman there, he remembered her voice. Her laugh. He'd heard it before, he knew he had, but it just refused to come to him. The second thing he knew was that there had been a man there….and that freaked him out even more than the rest of it. Maybe the man had just been visiting, he thought hopefully. He refused to believe that he'd been that out of it to-to-to-no. Hunter had never been into three ways of _any sort_, much less in that combination, and even if he had been doped to the gills, he refused to believe that he would have been so completely out of it. He had to remember what had really happened last night, and he had to do it as soon as possible. He'd track down Cassie, and whatever it took he would get the truth from her. The bitch had done something to him, and he would find out exactly what. No one played the Game like this. No one, much less some two-bit Texan twit.  
  
He pulled open the door viciously-and a very startled Stephanie dropped her purse, it's contents spilling on the concrete. She blinked in shock at Hunter.   
  
  
_New York City_  
  
  
"I still can't believe she went to Houston! How could she do that?" Vince yelled in Linda's room. He had been pacing off and on for the past hour.  
  
Shane rubbed his head tiredly. Vince had been on a tirade ever since yesterday, when he'd exploded after Linda had told him Stephanie had gone to Houston.  
  
"Is the girl stupid or is she just plain careless?" Vince wondered aloud.  
  
"And how exactly would she have been any safer here?" Linda demanded, having had enough of Vince's dramatics. "The stalker has already proven that he can get to any of us, at any time." She said reasonably, still horrified at the mere thought of it.  
  
"But at least she'd be here, with us. We could all look out for each other. Right now, the only people we can trust are inside of this family, and no one else!" Vince said firmly.  
  
"In Houston, she'll be with Hunter…and he's family." Linda pointed out.  
  
"The hell he is! You know, I liked it a whole lot better when you hated him as much as I do." Vince grumbled.  
  
"Well, I don't anymore. I'll admit there was a time when I thought that maybe the devil himself would be a better match for Stephanie, but…now, he's grown on me. He's not evil incarnate, Vince. He's the man our daughter loves….and I personally think that Stephanie and he are good for each other."  
  
"Linda-"  
  
"Vince, I don't want to talk about this anymore! The only thing I'm going to ask you now is the only thing that's important: Do you trust Hunter to look out for Stephanie? Do you honestly think that he would ever allow anyone to physically harm her? Well? Do you?"  
  
Vince muttered something.  
  
"What was that Vince? I couldn't quite hear you, you were talking through your ass again."  
  
"Mom!" Shane sputtered, laughing.  
  
"No, okay? Is that what you were waiting to hear, Linda? I trust the s.o.b. to watch Stephanie's back, but I still think he's a miserable excuse for a human being."  
  
"Yeah, well, he's her miserable excuse of a human being…just like you're mine. So just drop it, and let the chips fall where they may, allright? She took bodyguards, Hunter will still keep an eye out for her…I'm going to try not to worry too much about her. She wouldn't have been any safer here, anyway." Linda said.  
  
Vince looked back at Linda, prepared to go another round, but she looked so tired…so frail. She seemed to have shrunken somehow. Vince swallowed his protests, and reached over to take his wife's hand. "I'm glad to hear your voice again…even if you are arguing with me." He said softly.  
  
Shane coughed, took this as his cue to leave. He heard the sound of his parents kissing behind him and smiled wryly. At least one thing was right in the world.  
  
_Houston_  
  
"Stephanie…when did you get to Houston?" Hunter asked as he knelt and helped her pick up the contents of her purse.  
  
"Last night…and…."  
  
"Why are you here? Smackdown? I'm just surprised, I thought you would want to stay with Linda."  
  
"I would have, but she told me to come to Houston and-"  
  
"She told you? She woke up?" Hunter asked. Stephanie smiled, nodded happily.  
  
"Wow. That's really great…I'm really happy for you."  
  
"I know you are. And thanks. But the reason I'm in Houston isn't for Smackdown, it's because I-"   
  
"Hunter, man, did you fall over?" Shawn asked, seeing Hunter squatting on the floor. He then saw Stephanie and stopped dead. "Stephanie…didn't realize you were here." Shawn said.  
  
"Hi, Shawn….Kevin. I guess you guys came out to see Hunter, huh?"  
  
"Yeah…we did. Matter of fact, we were out all last night together." Shawn mentioned casually, trying to give Hunter an alibi, for whatever the hell Hunter was knee-deep in now.  
  
"Oh. I see. Went to visit Morgan, huh?" Stephanie questioned, a huge smile starting on her face….she loved messing with Shawn. It was so damn easy.   
  
Shawn reddened. "Yeah. Something like that….uh, Hunter, we're just going to head back up."   
  
"Yeah. Thanks, man." Hunter smiled, got to his feet and extended his hand toward Stephanie to pull her up. She brushed off her skirt and nodded toward the men who had come up behind her.  
  
"I suppose I ought to introduce everyone….Hunter, this is Victor. And Sam."  
  
"You're the bodyguards. Good to meet you." Hunter extended a hand.  
  
"You must be the guy who hired Rich and Rick Stone to investigate us." Sam said, shaking Hunter's hand good-naturedly.  
  
"How did you know about that?"  
  
"It's our job. I take it that we checked out?" Victor asked.  
  
"You're here, aren't you?" Hunter pointed out. They wouldn't have been if they hadn't checked out.  
  
"Indeed. Perhaps we should start moving?" Victor asked.  
  
"Yeah, let's do that." Hunter said firmly, gesturing toward his limo, where Chad had just pulled up.   
  
Sam started toward the car, looking underneath the body…Hunter shook his head, turned back to Stephanie.  
  
Stephanie looked peculiar. "You okay?" He asked warily.  
  
"Why did you have my guards investigated?"  
  
"I wanted to make sure you're safe."  
  
"That's all?" Stephanie asked, her heart sinking…but what had she expected him to say, she asked herself angrily: that he loved her, couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt?  
  
"What else could there be?" Hunter asked, confused as to what exactly she wanted him to say. It wasn't like he could admit that he loved her, and he just couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt.  
  
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Stephanie said bitterly. "It looks like Sam finished checking out your limo…are we going somewhere then? I think we really need to talk."  
  
"That's what I said last week…and you wouldn't hear anything I had to say. What's changed?" Hunter asked, not moving.  
  
"I have a reservation for lunch. Do you want to join me?" Stephanie asked, praying he would agree. She so didn't want to have this conversation right now…she was afraid if he actually admitted he was in love with Stacy, she might just break down in front of the hotel.  
  
"I'm not exactly dressed for it." Hunter commented looking down at his Screw the Rules T-shirt and sweatpants.  
  
"Who cares? We'll tip them extra."  
  
Hunter stared at Stephanie for a second. "Okay then." Hunter followed Stephanie to the limo, wondering at her sudden about-face. She seemed nervous. Because of him? He'd find out soon, he figured. All he knew was that he was relieved that she hadn't been in that room with him last night…she would have said something by now if she had been.  
  
  
_Elsewhere in ___Houston  
  
  
"I'm telling you, this one is the winner! Look, Hunter is sprawled out on top of you, you can't see his face, it just looks like you're kissing. You can even see that it's definitely you. It's perfect!" Kurt enthused.  
  
Stacy looked down at the picture thoughtfully. "You know what, Kurt? I think you're actually right. This one's the one." She said, delicately holding the photo at the edges.  
  
"So then we're agreed?" Still looking at the photo, Stacy nodded. Kurt got up from their table, took the photo from her hands, and marched up to the technician. "This one's the one. Work your magic." Kurt said happily.  
  
Stacy sipped on Kurt's water, wondering why she wasn't feeling as jubilant as he was.   
  
Kurt sat back down, next to her. "Let's go celebrate. We'll go to lunch." Stacy rose from the table. "That'll be done in a few hours, right?" Kurt called behind the counter.  
  
"Sure thing, Mr. Angle. Come back in three hours." The technician called.  
  
"We'll definitely be here." Kurt called back, and much to Stacy's relief, they finally left.  
  
"So where are we going to lunch?" Stacy asked as they climbed into the car.  
  
"A little place that Stephanie actually told me about. She said its got great food. I'm starving, so I'm going to drive fast."  
  
"Well, if Stephanie recommended it, then of course we have to go." Stacy bit out. But Kurt, as usual, was completely oblivious to her feelings. Stacy lay back in her seat, wishing she were somewhere else…they hadn't even done anything to Hunter yet and she was already regretting it.  
  
_

  
After a subdued and unnaturally silent limo ride, Hunter got out behind Stephanie when they'd arrived at the restaurant. Sam and Victor followed. Stephanie spoke to the maitre'd, who as Hunter had suspected, looked down at him rather snootily. Stephanie put the man at ease with a fifty, and they were led to a table in the back. "Guys?" Stephanie addressed Victor and Sam. "Could you please move over there? We'd like a little privacy." Stephanie pointed to a table a few feet away. Victor nodded shortly.  
  
The waiter brought their menus and Stephanie pretended to study it carefully, but the words were all blending together on the pages. She realized her hands were shaking the menu so she carefully set it down on the table so Hunter wouldn't notice. Stephanie gulped down some water and almost choked as it went up her nose. She coughed loudly and Hunter looked at her quizzically. They'd both been so silent in the limo ride. She had been afraid to talk, and she didn't know exactly what was up with him.  
  
"So, how have you been feeling?" Hunter asked, trying to get her to say something, anything. Why was she here? Could it be that she finally wanted to really talk to him? He hoped so…but damned if he would make it too easy for her. She had behaved completely inappropriately last week, and he hadn't forgotten it. And the thing of it was that he still didn't have the slightest idea what had set her off in the first place!  
  
"How have I been feeling? I'm tired." Stephanie admitted.  
  
"What, not sleeping tired….You have been taking care of yourself, right? Trying to get some rest?" Hunter prompted. He had to admit that she looked tired…she had circles under her eyes she hadn't been able to conceal, her face was pale….but she was dressed impeccably as always. He thought the skirt looked really great with her eyes….and the slit up the thighs didn't hurt either.  
  
"I'm tired of everything. I'm tired of being worried about my family. I'm tired of being scared, wondering if there's something in my food. It's gotten so that I can't even bring myself to eat anything besides t.v. dinners." She confessed.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"And I hate t.v. dinners…but they're prepackaged, so I figure they're safe." Stephanie said quietly. The waiter came by, set down their salads and took the rest of their order.  
  
Resuming their conversation, Hunter said: "I had no idea…of course you would have been freaked, after the juice and everything."   
  
"It's stupid, huh? But I just can't help it…every time I try and eat something, I feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm trying to get better about it though. That's why I made this reservation…to get myself out of this funk."  
  
"I'm glad. It's going to be fine."  
  
"Promise? You know, somehow I just feel better having you sitting across from me." Stephanie confessed. "But you always make me feel better." She said, almost as an afterthought.  
  
"Yeah, I'll watch you eat. If you want, I can even taste test….it's a pretty big sacrifice, I know. Taste-testing expensive food…baby, who's got your back?" Hunter asked with a smile. This wasn't so bad…at least they weren't screaming. Yet.  
  
Stephanie couldn't help it, she started laughing. He looked so adorable sitting across from her…in his little t-shirt, in his sweat pants…and she couldn't help but notice it…she wondered if he might be going commando? The prospect was tantalizing. It was very distracting, at the very least. Very wicked thoughts were popping up in her mind. Stephanie dragged her thoughts from the gutter and looked back up at Hunter.   
  
"I want to tell you why I came to Houston." She told him, her hands under the table, clenching and unclenching. God, why was she so damn nervous? Only because this entire conversation would probably be one of the turning points in her whole damn life….this could either be the beginning, or….the end. Her stomach did a somersault as she answered her own question.  
  
"I'd like to know. You said something about Linda telling you to come?" Hunter asked, as offhandedly as he could. His eyes searched her face, her body, trying to get some kind of clue as to what she was saying. All he'd picked up on so far was that she was nervous…and scared. Somehow, Stephanie being afraid made him feel better-she wouldn't be afraid if she didn't care.  
  
"Yeah. My mother told me…Mom told me that maybe I had jumped to conclusions. The wrong conclusions." Stephanie said carefully, sipping her water again, she was so thirsty, her eyes narrowed on Hunter.  
  
Hunter, searching for something to do, finally noticed that the waiter had brought his salad and he speared a huge slice of tomato. "What kind of conclusions?" He asked inbetween bites.   
  
"I'm just going to say it, okay? I can't stand it anymore. One way or the other, I just have to know, or you damn man, you're going to drive me absolutely insane! I know you said you're in love with Stacy, but-"  
  
Hunter choked on his tomato. "Hunter are you-oh, my God, you're choking! Somebody, help us, he's choking!" Stephanie screamed hysterically. She rushed over behind him and locked her hands around his waist in the Heimliech maneuver.   
  
  
  
"Hi. Reservations for two, under Kurt Angle."  
  
"Ahh, yes. Mr. Angle, ma'am. Right this way."  
  
"What's going on over there?" Stacy asked curiously. A young woman appeared to be running, but Stacy couldn't quite see her.  
  
"I do believe that the young lady's dinner companion is choking." The waiter said, as though it were nothing to be worried about. "But I can assure you, it's not because of our food." He finished hurriedly.  
  
"We don't care. Just seat us, please." Kurt told the waiter, ignoring the happenings on the other side of the room. But Stacy's curiosity was piqued, she continued to stare. Then she tripped over the carpet and flung into Kurt's arms.   
  
"You know, we've got to stop doing this." Kurt grinned as he caught her lightly.  
  
"It's Hunter! And Stephanie!" Stacy gasped.  
  
"Stephanie? Where?" Kurt spun around, dropping Stacy to the floor. He caught sight of Stephanie and pulled Stacy to her feet and dragged her over to a table. They sat directly parallel to Hunter and Stephanie, behind a small partition, so they were not visible.  
  
"Mr. Angle…this wasn't your seat, but if you would like it…" The waiter stammered.  
  
"Shh!" Kurt hissed. "Yeah, we want it. Now let us just look at the menus, okay?" The waiter handed the two their menus and both Stacy and Kurt sat listening to the couple across the wall.  
  
"Did you know they were going to be here?" Stacy whispered.  
  
Kurt wouldn't meet her eyes. "Of course not…well, actually, yeah, yeah, I did." He admitted, not really seeing any reason to lie.  
  
"How?" Stacy demanded.  
  
"Later, I'll tell you later! Now be quiet, I want to listen." Kurt said.  
  
  
  
The tomato went flying out and it hit the wall. Stephanie buried her head in relief against his back. Hunter turned around and held Stephanie's chin.   
  
"First of all, thank you for that." Hunter gasped, and to her shock, the jerk was actually laughing! Stephanie hit him on his arm and nodded through her relieved tears. "And secondly, have you completely lost your mind? You must have if you think that I could ever be in love with Stacy."  
  
"But you said-"  
  
"I don't know how you ever could have thought I loved Stacy…but I guess I can see how you could be confused. I have to tell you something…I never slept with Stacy, Stephanie." There was a weird intake of breath across the partition, but neither of them noticed.  
  
"What? But-in New Orleans-"  
  
"I know. I set it up to look like I was having an affair."  
  
"What?" Stephanie whispered, horrified.  
  
"It was a horrible thing to do, I know that, but-"  
  
"I had no idea you could hate me that much." Stephanie stepped back, the tears flowing readily down her face.  
  
"No! It wasn't because I hate you! It was because we were destroying each other, and I wanted the divorce. I was desperate, and I couldn't think of anything else. Please believe that at least…it wasn't a deliberate attempt to hurt you, I just wanted you to hate me enough to give me the divorce. Princess, please, sit back down, okay?"  
  
Stephanie slid back over to her side of the table. "You never slept with her?" She asked, wanting to hear the words again. She didn't care that he had set her up, it didn't matter…he hadn't slept with another woman! They had done so much to each other, this was just another game. A warm feeling was beginning to crawl through her but she tried to dampen it, just in case he wasn't saying what she thought he was saying.   
  
She hoped he was saying what she thought he was saying.  
  
She prayed he was saying what she thought he was saying. Stephanie crossed her toes inside her sandals. Please, please, please, if you let me have him, I promise I'll never ask for anything else ever again…unless it's really, really important. She amended in her silent prayer, not wanted to lie.  
  
"No. I didn't sleep with her in New Orleans. I swear to you." Stephanie saw the sincerity in his eyes and the warm feeling continued to spread. "I can see why you'd believe I was sleeping with her…but how did you get to my being in love with her?"  
  
There was a loud clatter of plates across the partition. Stephanie frowned, ignoring it. "I heard you! At the hospital."  
  
Hunter looked at her, eyes raising to tell her to elaborate.  
  
"Last week…I found out you'd been hurt, I ran up to see you. But you were with Stacy. You said you loved her." Stephanie said, her toes beginning to get sore from the crossing.  
  
"I don't remember…are you sure? I was pretty out of it. If I did say it…it's only because I thought I was talking to you, Steph."  
  
"But if you thought you were talking to me…does that mean…" The toes crossed even more tightly, and she crossed her fingers too, underneath the tablecloth. Please, please, please, please…..  
  
"That I love you? Yeah, it does. I love you Stephanie, no matter how hard I tried to stop, I couldn't…I tried to cut you out of my heart, but it wouldn't work. It never worked. I love you, Stephanie McMahon." Hunter said intensely. That weird hiss of breath across the wall again.  
  
"Oh, thank God!" Stephanie said as she got up from the table, sobbing, allowing everything that was crossed become uncrossed again. "I was wondering if I ever would get to hear you say those words to me again. I've missed you so much…everything's been so wrong in my life since you weren't in it. I've been so bored, and lonely, and I hate not being yours anymore." Stephanie choked out, wrapping her arms around his neck, sitting astride his lap. He held her back fiercely.  
  
"Mrs. McMahon?" A waiter came up behind them. Neither of them moved. The waiter coughed loudly, Hunter turned to look back at him. "What? This better be good."  
  
"Ah, well…your driver brought in your cell phone…apparently, you have a phone call, Mrs. McMahon."  
  
"I what? Tell them to call back later." Stephanie said absolutely resolute. Nothing short of a freakin' tornado was getting her away from this spot. And even if the tornado came, it would still be difficult.  
  
"Ma'am, all I know is that someone's asked for Stephanie McMahon. They apparently said it was important."   
  
"Maybe you ought to take it…just so we can stop being bothered. Or it could actually be important….your mother, or something." Hunter whispered.  
  
"You don't mind?" Hunter shook his head. "I'll be back in two seconds. Don't move."  
  
"Not in a million years would I move from right here." Hunter laughed. Stephanie still didn't move. He unwrapped his arms from her body. "We have all the time in the world. Go." He said softly, smiling beautifully.  
  
Stephanie, always mesmerized by that smile, reluctantly crawled off of Hunter's lap, and followed the waiter. Sam trailed her.  
  
Stephanie smiled at Chad who apologized for the interruption, picked up the phone and said "Hello? This is Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley…" But the receiver was dead. Stephanie frowned at Chad. "Did they say who it was?"  
  
"No, that's weird. The guy said it was really important he talk to you. I don't know why he'd hang up."  
  
"Me either…I'll take the phone with me in case they call again. Thanks anyway, Chad."  
  
"No prob, Mrs. H." Stephanie's eyes widened in surprise. "Why, Chad, I do believe that's the first time you've called me that in a while…what brings on the change?"  
  
"I think you're done screwing Mr. H. over, so I think I like you again." Chad cringed guiltily when he heard those words come out of his mouth. After all, he was the one who was really screwing Hunter over…but then he thought of the money Kurt Angle had promised him for only doing a few little things, and he suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore.  
  
"I see…and I'm glad. I'm going back to Hunter." Stephanie said, not exactly certain how she wanted to respond to Chad's comment.   
  
"Stephanie?" Stephanie pivoted toward the voice. "Kurt. What are you doing here?" Stephanie asked.   
  
"Smackdown, of course. But I guess you mean the restaurant…you actually told me I should come here, remember?"  
  
"Uh…yeah. Actually, I'm glad you're here. I'm here with Hunter. And I was just going to tell him the truth, about the baby. That you're not the father. Hunter and I…I think we're gonna be allright. I want to say thank you for helping me out. You're a great friend, you know that? I love you for it." Stephanie said, hugging Kurt.  
  
"Hey, I am always your friend. Remember that, okay?" Kurt said, hugging her even more fiercely, trying to buy a little time….  
  
"I will." Stephanie promised. "Are you here with anyone?" She asked.  
  
"Actually, I'm here with Stacy." Kurt said.  
  
"Why?" Stephanie asked pointedly.  
  
"She's actually a great girl, once you get to know her. I know you don't especially care for her. But she's really been good to me these past few days. She's been taking care of me after…."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Shane mentioned that Hunter had wiped the floor with you. I apologize for that, but please believe he had his reasons."  
  
Kurt seethed inwardly, but he managed a half-smile. "Yeah…of course he did. And if he hadn't attacked me, just think-- Stace and I might never have gotten to know each other. She's been so great, she hasn't even left my side the past week. Except last night, that's it. You want me to take you back to your table?"  
  
"Actually, thanks…but no. I think that would upset Hunter, and I don't want to do anything to rock the boat. I'm um, happy? About you and Stacy." And she actually kind of was…it kept the woman away from her man, didn't it? She did feel sorry for Kurt though, he had no idea what he was getting himself into.  
  
Stephanie strode back toward the table, Sam in tow. She stopped cold when she heard raised voices from her table. It was Stacy, talking to Hunter. The witch actually had the nerve to sit in Stephanie's own seat! Stephanie rounded the corner, headed directly for a startled Stacy. "Get up, bitch!" Stephanie yelled, hauling Stacy up bodily from the table.   
  
"Stephanie-it's" Hunter said, pulling Stephanie off of Stacy. "Stacy was just leaving."  
  
"But Hunter-" Stacy pleaded, as she allowed tears to flow down her face. She was glad she wasn't wearing waterproof mascara…it really added to the effect she thought. "Why are you doing this? I love you, you know that? Didn't last night mean anything to you?" She whispered in her best whimper. She watched through narrowly slitted eyes how Stephanie stiffened, looked up at Hunter questioningly.  
  
"Last night?" Hunter asked. No, no, please no, not her….  
  
"The wonderful night we spent together….we made love last night, Hunter. You were with Cassandra Wexler, she found my number on your cell phone because you were really drunk, she called me and luckily I was already here in Houston. I came right away, and one thing led to another….it was beautiful, like I always knew it would be. Hunter! Don't do this!"  
  
Hunter looked at Stacy slack-jawed. Could what she was saying actually be true? He couldn't remember! No, no, it couldn't be true, he'd remember…but he couldn't! What was going on here? He felt Stephanie draw away from him. She looked at him.   
  
"I hate even having to ask this…but is this true?" Stephanie asked distantly.  
  
He didn't answer.  
  
"Hunter, please, just say it's not true, I'll believe you. I swear to God, I'll believe you. All you have to do is say it. Please, say it." Stephanie begged.  
  
"I can't-I just, I don't-I don't know." Hunter admitted.   
  
Stephanie looked at him silently, wishing she could go back in time five minutes ago when everything had been wonderful again and not this horrible hell she couldn't seem to get out of.  
  


**Chapter 29**

Stephanie decided to ignore the crushing pain she was feeling in her chest. So that's what a breaking heart feels like, she thought….it really is as painful as it sounds. She swallowed hard, looking at Hunter. She managed to say calmly: "And how is it exactly that you 'don't know'?"   
  
Hunter looked back at Stephanie so intensely she actually almost took a step back. "I swear to you, I just don't know! All I know is that I woke up this morning with my head feeling like my brain was trying to make a break for it, I was in some weird room a few miles outside of Houston and a teenage girl had to give me a ride back here. That's all I remember, Steph! I don't remember sleeping with anyone, much less Stacy…but I remember there was a woman laughing…and I don't know! I just…I…" Hunter trailed off helplessly, thinking he was digging his own grave.   
  
"There's no way you were drinking last night." Stephanie said firmly.  
  
"Well, of course he was! When I saw him last night, he was so drunk and after a couple of trips to the bathroom, he was getting better…but that is why Cassandra Wexler called me in the first place. To help him." Stacy said, wiping a fake tear from her face.  
  
"So what? You help him by sleeping with him? Oh, that makes complete sense." Stephanie said bitchily. But now she knew.   
  
She _knew_.  
  
She knew the bitch was lying. She couldn't explain it, but everything inside of her was telling her that this was all wrong. She decided to trust that instinct, maybe because it was what she wanted to do above anything else. She studied Stacy carefully, and was even more certain. Stacy's eyes were darting all over the room, her foot was shifting ever so lightly across the floor….And how else did she know? Stacy said Hunter had been drunk. That couldn't be true, not if she knew one thing at all about the man she was married to. Hunter rarely drank enough to get drunk-he could take in an amazing amount of alcohol-but he would never, ever get drunk the night before a title match. Any other kind of match, maybe, it depended if he was really ticked off about something…but a title match? Never. Stephanie felt as though a truckload of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders. The relief quickly turned to anger as she wondered exactly what kind of game Stacy was trying to play with her marriage. It was about damn time Stacy Keibler learned that screwing with people was one thing, but interfering in something as serious as a marriage was quite another.  
  
Stephanie felt like laughing, telling Stacy where she could take her lies and shove them but….there was the fact that _something_ had happened to her husband last night. And she was determined to find out what. Stephanie swung around to face Hunter. Poor baby…he looked so genuinely freaked it took everything inside her not to wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything between them was fine. More than fine…for the first time in too long a time, they were on the same side. They were in accord. So instead she slapped him, the crack resounding through the restaurant.   
  
Hunter's eyes flared in shock, so she grabbed his chin and smiled at him, knowing Stacy couldn't see her own face as she was behind Stephanie. 'It's okay', she mouthed silently. Hunter looked down at Stephanie, thoroughly confused. 'Play along, trust me', she mouthed, widening her eyes for effect.  
  
Hunter stepped back, rubbed his cheek, wondering what the hell was happening now. Stephanie didn't look mad….why wasn't she mad? He'd just have to follow her lead since it seemed like she was the only one of the two of them that had a freakin' clue about anything. He racked his brain for anything to say.  
  
"What the hell was that? Did you ever realize that anytime the going gets tough, you go after me physically? Can't you use words, not violence?" He asked inanely, the words almost catching in his throat as he tried not to laugh at the hypocrisy.   
  
"Shut up! You're one to talk, you adulterous jerk! To think, I was about to take you back…well, you can forget all about it now, Hunter! If your taste in women has sunk so low that you'd touch that-that-well, then I want no part of you ever again!"  
  
"Yeah, well, that suit's me just fine! What the hell was I thinking-you're poison, Stephanie! I'd have to be insane to want to be with you anymore!" Hunter said, drawing words from the air.  
  
"Good, that's just great! You liar! I am soooo glad that we're not married anymore! And do you know what else, Hunter? I can do so much better than you!"  
  
"You're glad? You think you're the one who's glad?! Me, I'm so happy, I'm dancing! See, I'm doin' a little dance on the grave of us!" Hunter exploded, doing a neat little half-step, really getting into this fight now. "And you think you can do better? You really think so?" Hunter pulled Stephanie against him forcefully and kissed her passionately. To the outside world, the kiss looked angry, violent, but for the two people sharing it, it was absolute bliss. Hunter had to force himself to pull away from a heavy-lidded Stephanie. She groaned almost audibly. "There! I'd really like to see you _ever get anything better than that!" Hunter bit out, loving the expression on both Stephanie and Stacy's faces. The utter shock on Stacy's….the utter rapture on Stephanie's…  
  
"Oh, she definitely can do better." Kurt said, as he came up from behind Hunter…he'd been watching the entire thing of course, and loving every single minute. Nothing could be going any more perfectly! He stepped boldly past Hunter, reached in-and pulled Stephanie in for a kiss!  
  
Hunter's hand automatically went to Kurt's shoulder to pull him off of Stephanie, but he held himself back because Stephanie waved him off behind Kurt's shoulder. Stephanie pushed herself away from Kurt, trying not to let the distaste show on her face. Kurt didn't know it but he'd just added a hell of a lot of authenticity to her little ruse she was doing for Stacy's benefit.   
  
But then she began to wonder: What on earth was Kurt doing? It was highly coincidental that he'd happened to come to the same restaurant as her, not to mention the fact he'd brought Stacy with him. He couldn't be plotting with Stacy, could he? She hoped not, it might just destroy her faith in the entire notion of friendship for good.   
  
"You're right, Kurt! Let's get out of here, leave the happy couple to their….whatever the hell it is that they're calling it!" Stephanie said in her best arrogant tone. Her hand rummaged through her purse for a pen, grabbed a napkin after she found it. Hunter managed to shoot her a desperate look. Stephanie knew he had to be pretty bewildered so she stepped up to Hunter and called him a few choice words as she hastily scribbled a note out of sight. Both Kurt and Stacy were behind her, thoroughly enjoying the show. Little did they know it actually was a show, put on by Mr. and Mrs. Game themselves.  
  
"Bastard!" She said offhandedly, scribbling the note frantically, holding it against her leg but trying to remain absolutely standing so it didn't look weird to Stacy or Kurt.  
  
Moving to her side a little to block Kurt's view of her actions, Hunter returned: "Slut!"  
  
"Bastard!"  
  
"Bottom-feeding Bitch!" Hunter flung out, drawing from Jericho's insults.  
  
"Um-Jerk!"  
  
"Jerk? What the hell kind of insult is that supposed to be? Did you want me to get you a thesaurus?" Hunter demanded.  
  
"Ooh, a word with more than two syllables! Do you even know what a thesaurus is?" She asked scathingly. Stephanie finished writing. Picking up on that fact, Hunter reached out to grab her hand and she slipped him the note.  
  
"I hate you!" Stephanie said, but mouthed 'I love you' silently. He stroked her hand, and she yanked it away, stomping out of the restaurant, Kurt in tow. Hunter turned quickly, as though he was watching her leave. He studied her hastily scribbled note:  
  
Stacy's lying, find out what really happened. I'll call you soon.   
  
Hunter crumpled the note in his huge palm, turned to Stacy. Maybe a direct approach was called for here. "Did we really sleep together?" He asked incredulously.  
  
Stacy was still reeling from the fact that it looked like Stephanie and Hunter were truly finished. "Of course! Why would I lie?"   
  
"Oh, only about a MILLION reasons are coming to mind!" Hunter snapped angrily.  
  
"Hunter, look…"  
  
"I want to know exactly what happened, and I want to know right now. Now!" Hunter demanded.  
  
  
Stephanie felt a little out of breath as she allowed Kurt to lead her outside of the restaurant. Stephanie stopped Kurt with her hand. Meanwhile, she alternated between thinking Kurt was a traitor and that maybe she'd misunderstood everything. "Thanks for sticking up for me in there…I don't know how this all could have happened." She said in her best bewildered voice.  
  
"Oh, Stephanie, it's so much better this way, trust me! You totally can do better than that moron in there." Kurt said reassuringly. This was it! His chance, finally. Stephanie would never be more vulnerable than she was right at this minute.  
  
"It's just-he's he's the first man I ever really loved." Stephanie said, glad to finally be saying something that was the truth.  
  
"Well, meet the next man you're going to love." Kurt pronounced, smiling broadly.  
  
"I mean, Hunter-I-huh? What did you just say?" Stephanie asked, freaking out. No way had Kurt just said that, they were just friends, he knew that, he KNEW that!   
  
"I said I'm going to be the next man you love, the one who's going to help you get over Hunter. Because I love you, Stephanie McMahon!" Kurt swooped down to kiss her but Stephanie saw it coming and managed to duck. She almost tripped over her skirt she was backing away so quickly.  
  
"Oh, my God! How the hell can you be doing this to me? We're friends Kurt, nothing more!"  
  
"Maybe not now, but we'll be more if you just gave me a chance." Kurt replied, reaching over to her and puckering his lips offensively again.  
  
Stephanie felt sick, and it was weird but she thought that maybe the baby was feeling kind of disgusted…her stomach was positively churning. She swallowed down the bile in her throat, determined to find out if Kurt was merely a lovesick fool who'd fallen for the wrong woman entirely…or a manipulative bastard who she'd been fool enough to trust. "Well, Kurt…stranger things have happened." She managed weakly. "And I do-I do feel close to you, you know, we have history." Oh, this tasted bad, bad, bad. Stephanie flushed guiltily, feeling as though she was betraying Hunter. But she wasn't, she wasn't because she was doing this for them, for their future together. She had to know what Kurt was-friend or foe?  
  
"Does that mean you're giving us a chance?" Kurt took her stunned silence for ascent, and happily pecked her on the cheek, not wanting to press his luck. Stephanie held in a shudder. "Let's just…we'll take it slowly, okay? But…I am willing to try." She said, but knowing full well that she'd never be able to look at Kurt the same way again. All this time, she thought the only feelings he'd had toward her were those of friendship, but now…she felt awkward in his presence, and worried that she had never even picked up on any signals. If she hadn't seen something as important as this…what else about Kurt Angle could she have missed? Was there no one in this damn world she could trust anymore?  
  
Hunter. You can trust Hunter….and probably no one else. She thought to herself. Hunter, whom she'd left to be preyed on by that blonde bunny in there. She hoped he was getting closer to finding out what had happened to him last night, she hoped she had bought him that much at least with their ruse. Stephanie looked back at the restaurant longingly.  
  
"Can I give you a ride back to your hotel?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Um, I-well, I came in Hunter's limo and-" Stephanie knew that to take a ride in Hunter's limo would blow their staged fight out of the water, and so she reluctantly climbed in Kurt's car. Thank God they were only fifteen minutes away from her hotel. And thank God Victor and Sam would be in the car with her. She'd seen her bodyguards hanging back, unsure of how to proceed. For the first time she was thankful of their presence and didn't feel like she was being intruded upon. She motioned them closer, they climbed in Kurt's rental car. So she wouldn't have to talk to him, she turned the dials on the radio. She refused to look at him, but felt him looking at her from time to time. She longed to wipe her mouth, it tasted like-like Kurt-she thought, disgusted, but she didn't want to be so obvious. She wondered why she'd found Kurt's kiss more distasteful than the few other times he had kissed her…She thought maybe it was the fact she'd just finished kissing Hunter when Kurt had dove in. It was sort of like going from filet mignon to ground chuck. The difference was huge.  
  
Hunter sat down heavily. Stacy cautiously followed suit, sitting across from him. Okay, it seemed a more subtle approach was called for here, he decided.  
  
Stephanie seemed so certain he hadn't slept with Stacy…he wished he could be. Hunter narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. There was a way. If Stacy was lying about this…she would be unbelievably sorry. And if she wasn't he was going to owe her yet another apology. He impulsively reached out for Stacy's hand.   
  
"Stace, I am so sorry. I keep leading you on, giving you signals…it's no wonder that you're so confused. I could never blame you. It's just-difficult to believe that I could ever forget sleeping with you. I think you'd be damn near unforgettable. You know what I mean?" Hunter intoned.  
  
Stacy meanwhile shook under his gaze. It felt like he was undressing her in his mind…and she loved it. Did she dare? Did she really dare to do this, after all the crap he'd put her through? Yeah, she dared. Good girls always did finish last, that was what momma had always said. "Hey, if you want…I would be more than happy to ah-refresh your memory." She purred.  
  
"I want to remember…I don't usually get drunk, I don't like that it can make a man so powerless. But if you said I was drinking, I must have been…probably didn't even realize I'd had that much to drink. I would be very,…" Hunter stood, took two steps toward a still sitting Stacy so that his waist was directly parallel with her face, cupped her chin in his palm, caressed her cheek with his index finger… "…very grateful. Will you come with me?" He asked softly, extending his other hand. Stacy couldn't even speak, just nodded, her blue eyes huge.  
  
The waiter had come up at that point, promptly held out the bill and Hunter looked around helplessly. "I ah-my wallet was stolen this morning." He explained.  
  
"Mmm-hmm. Sure." The waiter sniffed, but fortunately Chad came up behind him and produced a credit card. "Here." Chad said.   
  
"You're a lifesaver, man. Remind me to give you a raise." Hunter clapped Chad on the back.  
  
"Sure thing, Mr. H." Chad said. "Are we leaving?" He signed the credit slip, they started walking out.  
  
"God, yes! Are you really going to come?" Stacy asked Hunter thickly.  
  
"I would think both of us would." Hunter said seductively, causing Stacy to swallow once she finally got his double meaning. She felt like she was on sensory overload. And it felt good. For once in her twenty-two years of life she was going to do what she wanted, not because it would help her get ahead in her career or expand her power-even though, being allied with Triple H himself certainly worked to her advantage in those aspects-but because she wanted to. She didn't care if he was on the rebound, she didn't care that he'd hurt her before, she knew that this was fate lending her a helping hand and she was going to take it, whatever the cost.   
  
"Where to?" Chad queried, holding open the door. Stacy climbed in first, loving that Hunter always traveled in style. Her kind of style. "Yeah, where to?" Hunter echoed.  
  
"We can always go back to the hotel…"  
  
"No, Stace. Where were we last night? I told you I want to remember…make me remember, Stacy." He was hoping that she'd trip herself up somehow. And once she did, he'd be waiting. It was kind of sad how easily he had been able to make her stop hating him and start worshipping the ground he walked on once again…but he wasn't about to complain. It suited his purpose.   
  
Stacy's eyes widened even further. "Sure…I'll give you directions once we're going…" She missed seeing Hunter's triumphant grin, too wrapped up in her own happy thoughts. _

**Chapter 30**

He hummed a jaunty little tune to himself softly as he worked, even as he kept a watch out for any unwelcome interruptions. He loosened the third screw…a couple more centimeters ought to do it…there. That should be perfect. If his plans for the McMahon family-one McMahon in particular, actually--were to come to fruition, there was a certain individual who he needed out of his way…and this was the perfect opportunity to accomplish that task. It wouldn't kill the man…just disable him long enough to make a difference. This hell in the cell match truly was going to be worthy of its name tonight. He stood up, his long legs aching from sitting on the floor for so long working on the Cage.   
  
"Hey, man! You gotta be careful…the cage is a delicate thing. We need to be careful with it. It's has to be set up exactly right." Nicole, one of the stagehands hurried up to him. He evaluated the young stagehand's expressions and quickly determined that she hadn't seen anything untoward. He smiled down at the girl. "Oh, I wasn't touching anything. I was just looking around for Chris Jericho. I need to speak with him."  
  
"I think he was in the cafeteria, last I saw him. He was working on his computer."  
  
"Thank you." This was perfect…he couldn't have set this up better himself.  
  
"Of course." The stagehand started hanging the WWF banners around the ring, never noticing that the Cage which was about to be raised had been tampered with. After all, she and her team had just finished inspecting it…although Rod should've stayed with the cage. It was normal policy the Cage was never left unattended. Rod came jogging up behind Nicole. "Hey…let's get this baby raised, huh? We need to set up in the back after we're done." She decided not to say anything to Rod, it wasn't like it had been alone for too long. "Sure thing…" They used the pulleys to lift the Cage over the ring. "It's going to be a great match tonight, huh? Hunter and Chris in the Cage…for the title no less! Who's your money on?" Nicole asked as they pulled.   
  
"You really got to ask?" Rod grunted with the effort.   
  
"No, I guess not. Hunter, right?"  
  
"Damn straight."  
  
Nicole laughed. "I think I agree, no way is he going to lose the title tonight." They secured the cage. "You want to grab a bite?"  
  
"Sounds great, Nikki." They walked up the ramp together satisfied with a job well done.  
  
Chris Jericho bit on his sandwich as he finished checked his e-mail. He was just about to shut down his computer when there was a little ding that meant he'd been IM'd. He flipped the screen back up and looked at the message curiously.  
  
Mr. Jericho?  
  
Chris shoved the sandwich in his mouth and typed: Yeah?  
  
I have some important news for you.  
  
Yeah, what's that? Chris typed.   
  
Something that could get you what you covet most: The Undisputed Championship.  
  
Chris froze, looked around the room for the jackass who was messing with him.  
  
Who is this? He typed angrily.  
  
It doesn't matter.   
  
I think it does.  
  
Do you want the Championship, or not?   
  
What exactly are you talking about here? Chris pounded in on the keyboard.  
  
It's really very simple.  
  
What is?  
  
All you have to do is get Hunter to one specific part of the cage…and then I promise you'll win your Championship.  
  
Chris looked around the room frantically, starting to get freaked out. What was this bozo talking about exactly? He typed the question.  
  
Simple. You and Hunter get in the Cage. You are the only one who will be able to walk out of it. Do you understand now?  
  
Chris swallowed. What they were talking about…this was serious. He inhaled deeply, looking around a third time, this time to make sure no one was watching him. He tapped his hand on the table still deliberating.   
  
Are you still there? The question popped up. Chris wasn't sure if he should answer. He could just close the laptop, pretend this entire conversation had never happened. His hand reached out to do just that and that was when he realized something:  
  
He really, really wanted the Championship.  
  
And he really, really hated Hunter. And given the chance, he had no doubt Hunter would screw him over any day of the week. Gradually, he rose the lid. He typed the words slowly:  
  
Yeah, I'm here…what do I have to do? He paused, and then hit enter.   
  


**Chapter 31**

"Kurt, it was nice of you to walk me to my door, but Victor and Sam were perfectly able to do so…they're getting paid quite well to do so, actually." Stephanie told Kurt, refusing to slide the key into the lock before Kurt had backed off at least a little. She didn't want to invite him in, but she needed to drag the truth out of him somehow....To her surprise, Kurt grabbed the key from her hand and held open the door. Irritated that he just refused to take a hint, Stephanie marched past him and walked straight over to the mini fridge. Kurt escorted Sam and Victor over to the adjoining room. They looked at Stephanie helplessly, and she nodded that it was allright. Victor left the door open a couple of inches though. Kurt might be a jerk but she really didn't believe he was stalking her family…he was too uptight for anything of that sort. She pulled out an orange juice and studied it for any puncture marks. She twisted open the top and decided to hope for the best. Stephanie settled down on the plush bed and looked warily at Kurt. She was even more unsettled when he came and sat down right next to her. She practically flew off of the bed, and went over to the fridge saying: "Oh, I've been so rude…I haven't even offered you anything to drink. Um, I have…liquor, coffee, water, tea, juice…." Stephanie trailed off when she saw Kurt looking at her with a funny expression on his face.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Stephanie asked Kurt.  
  
"I don't know, Stephanie…you tell me." Kurt said.  
  
  
_Motel Four Miles Outside of __Houston  
  
"Stacy, I don't know what planet you're living on but this isn't the same room I woke up in this morning." Hunter said angrily, folding his arms across.  
  
"Well, then you were even drunker than I thought, because this is for sure the same room." Stacy said definitively. She casually walked over to the small radio on the nightstand, fiddled with the knobs. She grinned when she heard the song, one of her favorites…it was fate, she decreed.  
  
_She's got you wrapped up in her satin and lace   
Tied around her little finger   
She got you thinkin' you can never escape   
Don't you know your hearts in danger   
There's a devil in that angel's face   
If you could only see the love that you're wasting   
  
I can love you better than that   
I know how to make you forget her   
All I'm asking is for one little chance   
Cause baby, I can love you baby, I can love you better_  
  
"Stacy…the bed was over there. He pointed to the right side of the room where the bed was conspicuously absent. Hunter found himself in a curious state between fury and laughter….it was kind of hilarious how Stacy was trying to convince him they were in the same room despite the fact that the entire layout of the room was different. Hunter sank down into a chair and cringed when the springs squeaked and he felt the bottom of the chair collapse. "Oh, son of a-" he tried to lift himself out of the chair but it was well and truly collapsed and his ass was on the floor.  
  
_  
I'm gonna break the spell she's got on you   
You're gonna wake up to find   
I'm your desire my intentions are true   
Hey babe, I know in time   
You're gonna see what you mean to me   
So open up your eyes cause seeing is believing_  
  
"Oh, gosh…" Stacy burst out laughing, walking over to him as he futilely tried to pull himself up. She knelt down beside him and said softly: "Well, at least now-" she kissed him on the cheek,-"I have you"-behind his earlobe,-"exactly"-further down the neck, "where I want you." Hunter stared back at Stacy, redoubling his efforts to get himself out of the chair.   
  
_I can love you better than that   
I know how to make you forget her   
All I'm asking is for one little chance   
Cause baby, I can love you baby, I can love you better_  
  
  
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Stephanie said as she turned her back to Kurt tensely.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, you do. The whole ride back here, you were really quiet and-"  
  
"Well, that's just because, with the bodyguards and everything, I just didn't feel comfortable speaking to you." Stephanie said smoothly.  
  
"Are you sure that's all there is to it?"  
  
"Well, what else could there possibly be?" Stephanie asked nervously, still trying to open up her orange juice's protective seal underneath the cap. Finally she dug a nail in and ripped it open.   
  
"I don't know. I thought maybe it was my saying that I wanted to try and build…a relationship with you. You said that if we took it slowly, you would be open to the idea. I want to know if you're serious about that."  
  
Hell, no. I wouldn't touch you with a two by four if I could help it. But she couldn't very well say that…at least not yet. She had to find out exactly what Kurt was up to. Which meant that she'd have to try and stop being so jumpy around him and put on a good show of it in front of him. Stephanie sat down on the bed, took off her shoes, crossed her legs together…at least her skirt was long. She looked at him expectantly, swallowing her orange juice.  
  
"Steph, I-" Her watch started beeping. "Oh, vitamin time!" She trilled.  
  
"You have your watch set for vitamins?" Kurt asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, yeah. I'm always so busy, especially being back in the WWF again. But this is really important for the baby, I guess, so I wanted to be sure I'd always remember. This is the one way I can be sure." She pulled out her pill and downed it with her juice.  
  
"This kid…it means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Kurt said slowly.  
  
"This baby means everything to me." Stephanie returned seriously. "Right now, my biggest priority is making sure that my baby has everything it could ever need to make him happy." And that included getting his daddy to see the light and come home to them. But she was well on her way to that end, she thought happily…he loved her. He said he loved her. She had replayed their entire conversation at the restaurant over and over in her mind the ride over to the hotel, growing more and more ecstatic by the mile. She had her husband back. Now all she had to do was tell him two things: he was still her husband and they were having a baby. She refused to get depressed about those two little things though, he'd be mad but she'd make him so happy he'd soon get over it.   
  
But there was still the task at hand: Finding out what Kurt was up to, if anything.  
  
"I just want you to know, that your being pregnant…it doesn't change the way I feel about you." And it didn't. It probably would, if he was truly in love with her, but fortunately, he just wanted her…this kid better not get in the way of what he wanted though. He'd had enough of being the most talented guy in this business and still not having all the breaks. Being with Stephanie would certainly change all of that though…he just had to make sure all of her attention and devotion was where it belonged: solely on him.  
  
"Ah, well…Can't tell you just how glad I am to hear that." Stephanie said dully. "Kurt?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, I was just still wondering about you and Stacy, at the restaurant today. I mean, how exactly did that come about?"  
  
"I did mention how great she's been, right? She's really helped me out since my injuries. She's a true friend. But don't worry Steph, there's nothing more to it, I promise. Not like her and Hunter. I know that's got to hurt."  
  
"It's not like it really matters either way." Stephanie said casually, picking up an imaginary piece of lint from the skirt. She felt Kurt's attention sharpen on her.  
  
"It really doesn't matter to you? That Stacy slept with Hunter?"  
  
She cringed at the way the words sounded. It made her sick even to picture it. "No, not at all. Were you not at the restaurant this afternoon at all? Hunter and I are so finished…this was just the last straw, the final nail in his coffin. I meant what I said. I can do much better than him. I think I'm off to a good start, don't you?" She reached out and playfully swiped at his shoulder. Kurt smiled.  
  
"You sure are." He pulled her down on top of him on the bed. Stephanie swallowed hard, rolled off of him and lay on her side. "You haven't even answered my question." She teased gently.  
  
"When I'm with you, any thought I'm having seems to fly right out the window."  
  
Stephanie tried not to gag. He was so insufferable when he was trying to be romantic. Kurt and the tender arts….not a winning combination. She choked down the bile in her throat, smiled sweetly and twirled a long strand of hair around her finger. Kurt reached over and grabbed her hand.  
  
"You're still wearing your ring! Why?" Kurt demanded.  
  
"Hey, you're hurting me!" But his grip only tightened.   
  
"Why are you still wearing your ring…if you're so over Hunter, why do you still wear his ring?"  
  
"The thing won't come off!" Stephanie snapped. "Now. Let. The. Hell. Go. Of. My. Hand! Or you can get the hell out of my hotel room."  
  
Kurt dropped her hand. "I'm sorry...it just threw me, that's all." He muttered.  
  
"That's no excuse." She said, but immediately softened her tone. "But it's allright. I understand. I wish the thing would come off, but it just doesn't seem to want to."  
  
That was a bad way to phrase it, she thought. She hastily continued. "But let's just change the subject, come on…what exactly are you doing with Stacy Keibler?" She kept the question light, teasing, not wanting to arouse any suspicions.  
  
"Why, are you jealous?" Kurt asked, leaning on his side to face her now on the bed.  
  
"Maybe." She teased coyly. "Should I be?"  
  
"Steph, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It's Hunter Stacy wants, I promise you that. She has a major thing for him…kind of an obsession, really."  
  
"You don't say." Stephanie said, seething. It was nothing she hadn't known already, of course, but to hear the words from someone else just really made it hit home.  
  
"Yeah….and I really can't think of two people who deserve each other more. Actually, Stacy deserves better, but hey, it keeps him away from you and that's all I really want."  
  
"Mmm-hmm. Obsession, though…that's such a strong word, Kurt. Do you really think Stacy is obsessed with Hunter?" She asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.   
  
"I really don't know any other word to use. He's played her at every turn but she keeps coming back up and begging for more. If that's not an unhealthy obsession, I just don't know what the hell is."  
  
"I guess so…but how far would she go?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"How far would Stacy go…to get Hunter?" To sink her pathetic little claws into him? She asked silently.  
  
"Why all the questions?" Kurt asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice.   
  
She knew she was pushing too hard, but damn it! She wanted to get to the bottom of all of this.  
  
"I'm just curious, I suppose. Plus, if she's scheming against him, I need to know."  
  
Kurt sat up frowning. "Oh, you do? Why exactly is that, Stephanie? I-" He started to say that he'd heard her in the restaurant, hanging all over Hunter and his little proclamation of love, but he didn't want to tip her off that he'd been eavesdropping. "-thought you didn't give a flying leap anymore." He finished.  
  
"No, nothing like that, of course not, Kurt!" Stephanie pretended outrage. "I am my father's assistant, Hunter is the Undisputed Champion…it's business. If Stacy's doing something, I need to know so that I can properly evaluate its impact on my company. You understand, don't you?"  
  
"Yes. Yes, I do…I have to say it's a relief to see you and your incredible business acumen making a comeback. "  
  
"Thank you, I think it's rather great myself." Stephanie grinned.  
  
"And to that end, let me just say…." Kurt walked over to the mini fridge and grabbed his own orange juice. He knocked it against Stephanie's bottle-" to the beginning of an absolutely unstoppable force. It's about damn time you woke up and saw what's been in front of you all this time." Stephanie echoed, pasting on a smile. What a jackass.  
  
  
  
"Haven't you heard that resistance is futile?"  
  
"What are you, a Trekkie?" Hunter asked desperately. Damn this chair! Had…to…get…up!  
  
"I will confess to a little crush on Captain Picard…it must be the voice, don't you think? I'm helpless to men with great voices, I think that's one of the reasons I can't get myself over you."  
  
"Oh, God." Hunter muttered, finally getting some traction and hauling himself out of the collapsed chair. He slid up and out onto the floor. Stacy sat astride his legs, causing him to look up at her. Rather than ask her to move, which he didn't believe she was about to do, he picked her up. He lifted her up as easily as if she were made of air and sat her down on the bed.  
  
"Ooh, man of few words, huh?" Stacy teased, vamping a pose on the bed.  
  
"Oh, God." He repeated. He remained standing. "Stacy, I feel the need to go over a couple of things with you." He said, running his hand through his hair agitatedly.  
  
"Yes, Hunter?" Stacy asked sweetly.  
  
"Okay, you know I can't remember…having sex with you last night. I told you I wanted for you to help me to remember, you said you'd bring me back to the room we had last night. This isn't the room."  
  
"That's just semantics!" Stacy sputtered.  
  
"Semantics? Semantics? Stacy! I-you-!" Hunter reined in his temper before he started yelling. "Stacy, please explain to me how not being in the same room is just semantics?"  
  
"Well, to tell you the truth, I couldn't get the same room. It was being used." She lied quickly. After all, she didn't want him actually remembering that nothing had in fact happened…and he probably would have been more likely to remember if the environment had been recreated in its entirety. "And we don't even need that stupid old room to make your memory come back. After all, you have me. And I assure you…I'm unforgettable, like you said earlier. So…." Stacy slid off of the bed, startling Hunter, but to his relief, she walked right past him. Then she turned off the lights and fiddled with the radio. A seductive melody began to play.   
  
"Sit down." She invited, pointing to the bed. He sat down, trying to concentrate on her voice, on her face….anything to help him remember. "Well, it's not exactly perfect, but…I certainly can't complain about the company." She giggled.   
  
Hunter froze. That laugh….it was the same laugh! It was her, it had been Stacy who he'd been with last night. Fuck. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to focus the memory. Nothing. He opened his eyes again, looked up. Stacy smiled down at him, pulling her hair behind her face. He smiled back, reached up and pulled her hands into his and pulled her underneath him on the bed. He looked down at her face. "So, Stace….make me remember." He whispered.  
  
"Uh-Okay." She squeaked. "Um, I guess the first thing to do would probably be to kiss."  
  
"Kiss?"  
  
"Well, that is how these things generally start out, you know."  
  
Hunter shrugged. He grinned when he thought about how much he was going to enjoy telling Stephanie all about the 'sacrifice' he was making on her behalf. Oh, the things men do for love, he thought, leaning in to kiss Stacy.   
  
He pulled back after he was certain she was well and truly distracted. "So who was the guy in the room last night?" he asked quickly, throwing her off her guard…and it worked.  
  
"Just Kurt." She murmured. Her eyes opened wide, her lips swollen from the kiss. "Hey! What the hell are you trying to pull?!"  
  
But for some reason, the mention of Kurt's name focused Hunter on the voices he had heard…and now he was remembering words. He remembered….he remembered. Hunter's eyes opened slowly.  
  
Stacy had been looking at him rather accusatorily, but seeing the hardened expression now on his face, quickly adopted a more concerned look.  
  
"Hunter?" She asked quietly. "Um, are you okay?"  
  
  
  
Kurt settled back onto the bed. "You know, I always knew it was only a matter of time before you came around." He said confidently.  
  
"Is that so?" Stephanie asked. This was good for her, she told herself. Being with Kurt like this, it was good, because it was helping her with anger management. If she could survive the rest of this conversation without seriously injuring him, she could get through anything without losing her cool.  
  
"Definitely. Hunter's a caveman, a Neanderthal. You need a man who's like you, who appreciates the finer things in life….not to mention someone you don't have to be afraid to bring out in public."  
  
"You don't say…." Stephanie seethed. When he wanted to be, Hunter was the classiest man she'd ever met. At least he wasn't a whining, sniveling little crapweasel like Kurt. She had to physically bite her tongue.   
  
"But now you've seen the light, it's taken a lot longer than I thought it would, sure, but hey, it's never too late. And now you finally know that Hunter is nothing but a classless, worthless jerk-off who isn't worthy to breathe the same air as you."  
  
It was taking every single ounce of self-restraint not to pop Kurt one. She opened her mouth to agree vaguely, but she couldn't form the words. She didn't need to, Kurt was more than happy to keep talking for the both of them.  
  
"I mean let's face it. Hunter was probably some youthful animalistic physical attraction right? Not to mention it drove Vince insane to think of his precious little girl at the mercy of some degenerate, am I right or am I right?" Kurt said arrogantly.   
  
"You're-you're" An ass. You're abhorrent. A moron. An idiot. "absolutely right." She finished. "Hunter really had me turned upside down there for a while…I didn't even know which way was up. But thankfully, I've seen him for what he really is…and Stacy will too."   
  
"Let's not talk about Stacy anymore." Kurt drawled.  
  
Good. Then I can kick you the hell out of here and call Hunter. Moron. Aloud, she said: "Okay then…I just wanted to be sure that there were no surprises in store…I'm trying to really restore this company again. Having a champion who is…well, let's just say 'in disgrace' is not exactly conducive to business. But if you don't know anything, you don't know anything." She shrugged it off, starting to stand. She was startled when Kurt pulled her back down on the bed.   
  
"I know it was the animalistic attraction that kept you with Hunter for these two years…."  
  
Animalistic attraction?! Where the fuck did he come up with this bullshit? She wondered.  
  
"….but you know as well as I do that I can more than substitute."  
  
Stephanie froze underneath Kurt's stare. Oh, God, no. She didn't want him to start talking about _it_ again, they had already talked it to death eight months ago. She had tried to pretend it had never happened and for the most part, had succeeded admirably.  
  
"Steph, ever since last November you've acted differently around me. I've tried to ignore it, I've tried to be your friend, but now you're acting weird again, like you were right after it happened. I thought you wanted to forget about it, and even though that's not what I wanted, I've tried. But I can't help it anymore, Stephanie. I can't just ignore the fact that eight months ago we made love." Kurt told her.  
  
"Look, we've already talked about this. Don't you get that I don't even want to discuss it at all? It's-it's a non-issue! Kurt, it was Hunter's and my anniversary and he wouldn't even _speak_ to me, it was like I didn't even exist for him anymore, he was so damn busy with his rehab on his leg. And I tried everything, he didn't care and…I was hurt. I wanted to hurt him, and that's why…that's why I slept with you, Kurt. There was nothing else to it though, it was just sex."  
  
"But that couldn't have been all there was to it, Stephanie! I know you, I know you wouldn't have just slept with me for the heck of it-"  
  
"But that's exactly what I did! You know that! Kurt, we discussed this to death months ago. I told you that I was committed to my marriage, committed to Hunter and it was a mistake." One that she'd regret for the rest of her entire life, she knew. Sleeping with Kurt had been the single stupidest thing she'd ever done….of course, the whole baby lie had been a close second. Not to mention buying ECW, coming so close to marrying Andrew….God, she'd done a lot of stupid things in her life, but the one thing she'd ever done that hadn't had any positive repercussions whatsoever had to have been when she'd slept with Kurt late last year. She'd been drunk, on her anniversary, stood up by her husband, she'd been depressed, and she'd been hurting…Kurt had just been there, completely in the right place at the wrong time for her. She wanted to hate him for taking advantage when she was vulnerable, but she accepted that she'd been stupid enough to turn to him in the first place. It had been the single most horrible experience of her life, and she'd gone crazy the next morning thinking Hunter would find out, he'd leave her for good. So she'd begged Kurt to forget all about it and pretend it had never happened. She liked to pretend she hadn't really been that stupid, that it had all been just some really bad nightmare. To his credit, he hadn't brought it up since. Until now.  
  
"Why are you talking about this now?" She whispered up to him, starting to cry. He couldn't tell Hunter, Hunter could never know…she'd made so many mistakes and he had forgiven her today. This would just screw it all up.  
  
"Why are you crying?" Kurt asked.  
  
Because I hate you, I hate you…and I don't want to remember the worst, lowest night of my life. Is that good enough for you Kurt, you jerk? She longed to scream. "I don't know. I just-hormones. Pregnancy. All that." She said sadly.   
  
"I know why. Remembering, it overwhelms you. It does that to me too. That night, it was amazing, I know. And I've been wanting to repeat it ever since." Oh, God. This wasn't happening. He couldn't actually think that…she had enjoyed it. He couldn't possibly be that delusional! But he was…..  
  
"Kurt, stop it." She whispered, starting to sob. Damn him, why was he rehashing all of this? Why couldn't he just have blocked it out, like she had done? She didn't want to remember that horrible, sinking feeling she'd had when she had awakened the next morning...to find Kurt next to her in the bed. She didn't want to remember the bile rising in her throat when she thought about Hunter's reaction if he ever found out about this complete and utter betrayal of their vows.  
  
"Why? It's what we both want, isn't it?"  
  
"No, I don't. I want you to stop. I need-I need to think about things now." But he was still on top of her, caressing her thigh….  
  
"Kurt, get away from-from me." She choked out, pushing at him. He simply held her tighter, pulling her hair harshly into his hand. It hurt, it stung.  
  
She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't take this anymore. "Get out!" She screamed, finally snapping and losing it. With almost inhuman strength, she shoved him off of her and onto the floor. The adjoining bedroom door swung open and Sam came out. Victor followed suit.  
  
"Please make him go away." Stephanie said, gasping, choking, crying, glad the bodyguard was finally earning his keep.  
  
"Steph? What the- Steph?" Kurt asked incredulously. But Sam and Victor escorted him out. "What the hell kind of game are you playing?" Kurt yelled. "We are going to talk about this Stephanie. And let me tell you one thing! If somehow, some way you are still clinging on to the delusion that you actually still want that s.o.b., how do you think he's going to feel when he finds out about us? I won't stay quiet, not anymore! You can't just screw with me like this, Stephanie!" Kurt shouted as Sam and Victor finally got him out of the door. Stephanie fled to the other bedroom. Then she realized she had to throw up and ran for the bathroom.  
  
When she felt like she'd thrown up every single thing she'd ever eaten in his entire life, Stephanie stroked her stomach in a circular motion. "Well, at least I didn't sleep with anybody but daddy four months ago, huh? We both are really, really happy about that, let me tell you." She told the baby. "But I somehow don't think your father's going to be as relieved. Everyone calls me a slut…a whore. I never thought it was true. Neither did your father…he was the only one who ever defended me. And it wasn't true, at least not before. I hope your father doesn't hate me after he finds out. I'm so sorry….I didn't mean to. It was all just a horrible, horrible night. Do you think he might forgive me?" She whispered, somehow feeling better just talking to her baby._

**Chapter 32**

_Arena in __Houston__, __Texas  
  
  
"Hey, has Hunter arrived yet?" Stephanie asked one of the security guards anxiously.  
  
"Yeah. Saw him head into his dressing room ten minutes ago. He looked royally ticked." The security guard responded.  
  
"Oh. Was anyone with him?" She queried, trying not to sound as afraid as she was. She had pulled herself off of the bathroom floor with only one frantic thought: that she had to tell him, she had to get to him, had to get to him before Kurt followed through on his threat and told Hunter the truth.   
  
"Yeah, actually. He was with um, Miss Keibler." The security guard said afraid to be the bearer of bad news.  
  
Stephanie took off down the hallway in a sprint, Sam and Victor following her, bewildered.  
  
  
"I have to tell you that I'm not happy with this plan." Stacy told Hunter as she sulked on the couch in his dressing room.  
  
"Cry me a river. Do you honestly think I care?" Hunter asked as went into the bathroom and changed into ring attire.  
  
"Well, you have to admit I'm going to look like a fool at the end of all of this."  
  
Hunter came out of the bathroom. "Once again, why do I care?" He asked cynically.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry! I told you the truth, I told you that Kurt hired Cassie to drug your drink and take you back to that tacky motel. I told you that Kurt and I came along and we…put you in a compromising position…jeez! I've even offered to help you recover the photographs! What do you want, do you want to make me bleed?" Stacy asked, starting to cry.  
  
"Stop with the crocodile tears, Stacy. You're lucky I'm not doing anything any worse to you. You'll survive, which is more than I can say for your little co-conspirator Angle."   
  
"But it's going to be so humiliating! Can't I just help you get the pictures back? And it's like I told you…we look really hot in the pictures at least!" Seeing that he wasn't the least moved by that last argument, she continued hastily: "Really, I'll do whatever you want!"  
  
"Stacy, I've already told you what I want. I've been quite clear on it, actually. You should be grateful."  
  
"Grateful?!" Stacy asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes. After all, you were in on all of this! You were an accessory and you're damn lucky I'm not going to the police. I'm going to take care of this myself, like I always do. So the way I see it, you have two choices." Hunter walked over to the sofa and kneeled at face level. "You can either do absolutely everything I told you to do tonight, or I can send you to jail. You'd be real popular there, Stace, with all the women, let me tell you."  
  
"You are such a mean-spirited, spiteful, vengeful jerk." Stacy spat hatefully.  
  
"I know….but the thing is, you made the mistake of forgetting that. Now, you're going to pay. So what's it going to be?" He asked in such a quiet, deadly, ominous voice she actually shivered.  
  
Stacy mumbled something, and though Hunter was only two feet away he couldn't quite make it out. "What was that, Stace?" he asked.  
  
"I'm in." She said in a monotone.   
  
"Good girl!" Hunter said, irritatingly. Suddenly the door swung open. Hunter rose to his feet and smiled when he saw Stephanie. "Hey!" His smile faded when he saw the lost expression on her face.   
  
"Stacy, could you go? I need to speak with Hunter. Alone." Stephanie said quietly. Stacy looked at Hunter who nodded. He grabbed her by the arm as she was about to leave. "Don't do anything stupid." He told her. She nodded and left silently, glaring at Stephanie with an odd mixture of curiosity, jealousy and hatred. Stephanie had Victor and Sam wait outside the door.  
  
"So, I'm guessing that you want to know if I got Stacy to tell me what happened last night. I did, I remembered everything that happened. I guess the drug wasn't supposed to allow me to remember, at least not for a really long time, but somehow I did. Guess my mind's just too damn strong for some pathetic drug." He attempted to get a rise out of her, but she was strangely subdued.  
  
"Hunter, I…I really don't want to do this. But I have to tell you the truth. This is…this…oh, God." Stephanie started, her voice high-pitched, she tapped her fingers against her thigh.  
  
"Steph, it's okay. I already know." Inside, he started to feel like his blood was becoming superheated. Finally, she was going to tell him that he was the father of their baby! He knew she wouldn't lie to him….this was an entirely new beginning, for the both of them. No more lies, no more manipulations…at least not between them…every one else was fair game of course.  
  
"You-you-you know? How could he have gotten here so fast to tell you?" Stephanie asked disbelievingly.  
  
"How could who…Steph, it's okay. I know you're expecting me to be angry, because you lied….but I understand. I forgive you, if that's what you want to hear."  
  
"You-you-you do? That easily? I, Hunter I…oh, my God. Thank you! Thank you! I promise you, I promise I will spend the rest of my entire life making it up to you, making you the happiest man alive, I swear I will. I just didn't expect you to…I love you so much!" Stephanie started crying in relief, throwing her arms around him, he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. "I don't know how you can forgive me just like that, I don't know if I could ever forgive you if you'd done what I did…but I guess that just makes you a better person than I am, huh?" She sobbed.   
  
"Hey, it's okay…it's not like you were lying about something really awful or anything. At least it's the kind of lie that I can more than live with. You were just upset and angry…so was I. I can understand that you wanted to strike back." Hunter said as he embraced her tightly around her back.  
  
Stephanie's heart started sinking…nothing 'really awful?' Oh, she had known this was too good to be true. Slowly, she started to slink her way down his body until she stood again. The way he was looking at her…so gently….so possessively…he was talking about something entirely different, she realized. She wasn't sure what, but she knew it couldn't have been about her sleeping with Kurt…no way could he be looking at her like this if he was. Her eyes searched his face hungrily, wanting to memorize every single possible nuance of his expression just in case she was never to be blessed by seeing it again. Her breath caught in her throat. "Hunter, I think that-"  
  
There was a knock at the door. "It's one minute, Hunter." A cameraman told him as he peered in.  
  
Hunter looked at the clock on the wall in shock. "@#%$! We'll talk later, okay? You want to walk me out? Make everyone in the stadium drop dead." He grinned beautifully. Her heart melted. "Okay." She said. It wouldn't be fair of her to tell him just before his match…it would be so cruel and she just couldn't do it. And it's not like there was time to really even say anything. She was relieved for the excuse. She hurriedly wiped her tears, straightened her hair as she and Hunter rushed out of the dressing room and toward the ramp. Neither noticed as Victor pointed toward a corner and Sam stalked off to take a look. Hunter's theme song started blaring and she pulled herself up straight, walking arm in arm down the ramp, oblivious to the screaming of the audience.   
  
"We'll talk after I kick Jericho's ass all over Houston, okay? I promise." Hunter told her loudly over the applause. Stephanie nodded, biting her lip. She looked up at the Cage, a chill going down her spine. She hated Hell in the Cell matches….okay, that wasn't exactly true. She loved it when other people were in them, she hated them when Hunter was in them. She knew he was brilliant in the ring…but he took it so far, always, he had no concern or regard for his body. Every minute he was inside of the Cage felt like a year had been taken off of her life. She pushed the nerves aside, instead forcing an approving and supportive smile to her face and applauding loudly as he entered the Cage to a waiting Jericho. One of the refs locked the Cage door resoundingly. She cringed as the locks slid home. Stephanie looked up at Chris and to her surprise, he was looking straight back at her. Her blood and spine turned absolutely glacial as she looked into his eyes and saw…something she couldn't quite turn into words. All she knew was that it made her want to run over and rip open the door to the Cage. Chris broke the eye contact abruptly, nervously she thought. Her breathing turned shallow as she started over to the door. She wanted to open it, tell Hunter to get out. But she couldn't do that, he would never accept a forfeit….and besides, she was just being paranoid, seeing things that weren't even there. Hunter would take care of Chris like he did all of his opponents, and then she would tell him the truth about her and Kurt. He deserved the truth and she didn't want anything between them if he somehow could find it in his heart to forgive her. Besides, it wasn't like she couldn't not tell him…it had to come from her if she stood a snowball's chance in hell of having him forgive her.  
  
The match commenced as Hunter started hitting Chris forcefully. She wanted this match to end right now…and yet, she wanted it to last forever, that way she would never have to tell him about Kurt. Her mind was racing, too many thoughts and fears rattling around in her brain when she ought to have been busy noticing three things.  
  
The first was the unnatural calm and tenacity Jericho was showing as he carefully minute by minute maneuvered and manipulated Hunter into the southwest corner of the Cage.  
  
The second was the fact that neither Sam nor Victor had followed her down to the side of the ring.  
  
And of course the third was the fact that Kurt Angle had started coming down the ramp, microphone in hand, sledgehammer in tow and gold medals bouncing furiously on his chest.  
  
  
_

**Chapter 33**

_Arena in __Houston__, __Texas  
  
Stephanie heard the audience beginning to grumble and for the life of her couldn't understand why. The match was going along so well…Hunter and Chris were basically beating the crap out of each other and doing it with finesse….although Chris was getting in far too many hits on her husband for her liking. Without even thinking about it, she swung around and her stomach felt like it dropped to the floor as Kurt stalked down the ramp. She frantically looked toward Hunter, so immersed in his match that he hadn't even noticed Kurt's presence ringside. She ran over, grabbed ahold of Kurt, pushing him back.  
  
"What do you think you're doing here?" She cried out. "Get the hell away from me!" She screamed, frantic to make him disappear. Her eyes searched desperately for Sam or Victor to get them to take Kurt away but they were no where in sight…you pay a fortune for the best bodyguards money has to offer and when you finally need them they're off somewhere else! She thought frustratedly. Stephanie tried to grab the microphone from Kurt but he shoved her aside, she lost her balance and hit her head on the steel steps around the ring. Hunter looked up from the clothesline he had just hit Chris with as the audience gasped collectively. His heart froze when he saw Stephanie sprawled out on the floor.  
  
"Kurt! Did you just hit her? Did you hurt her?" Hunter yelled and he ran for the Cage door. He motioned for the Referee to unlock it but he shook his head, it was a very explicit rule that the Cage be opened under no circumstances. Hunter's eyes widened and he began to climb the Cage but Chris came up from behind him, launched at him and Hunter fell down. Hunter pushed himself off of the floor. He started to knock Chris back so he could resume his climb up the Cage, but saw Stephanie starting to come to so he rushed over to her side of the Cage, knelt down and yelled out through the fence. "Princess! You okay? Steph? Answer me!"  
  
Stephanie looked up, her head ringing. She saw Hunter's concerned face looming over her and pushed herself off of the floor. "Fine. I'm fine." She said dizzily. But then Kurt came back into her line of sight and the horror began anew. She turned to Hunter, gripping the Cage. He held her fingers. "You sure you're okay?" He asked breathlessly.   
  
"Don't listen to him, Hunter! Please! Whatever he's going to say, it's a filthy lie! You have to give me a chance to explain, please." She choked out tearfully. Hunter looked back at Kurt stonily. He'd hurt Stephanie…Hunter felt a tightening in his chest. He started seeing tinges of a red haze. No one hurt Stephanie, and if they did they dealt with _him_.  
  
"What the @#%$ is your problem, Angle? You don't have any business out here!" Hunter yelled through the Cage even as he side-kicked Jericho back down.  
  
"Actually, I do, Hunter. You're the one who doesn't have a clue! And I think it's about damn time someone gave you one because we all know there's no way you can figure out anything with your limited intelligence."   
  
The audience started a vigorous chant of "Ass-hole….Ass--hole…." But Kurt ignored them, his attention solely on Hunter.  
  
"You see Hunter, I've kept quiet about this for far too long. I think it's because I like the fact that finally, I have one up on you. 'I know-some--thing you don't know…' Kurt sang out obnoxiously.  
  
"You obviously don't know shit, Angle, otherwise you wouldn't be interrupting my match. As soon as I'm done kicking this moron's ass, I'll be more than happy to move on to your ass."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry Hunter, but you're second in line…behind Stephanie, of course."   
  
Backstage a stage hand started thinking this was definitely getting interesting, and since neither Stephanie and Hunter had mics, the audience couldn't understand what they were saying. So he flipped on the microphones around the ring, allowing the building to hear the discussion.  
  
"And what the hell do you mean by that?" Hunter shouted.  
  
"What do I mean by that? What do I mean? Oh, I'll tell you, Hunter, I will tell you exactly what I mean!"  
  
"Don't do this, Kurt, I am warning you…." Stephanie started, but Kurt cut her off furiously.   
  
"You're warning me? Me? No, Steph, I'm the one who warned you. I warned you not to make me angry, but you did. Now, you pay the consequences."  
  
"Kurt! If you do this, if you tell him like this, I will never forgive you! And I promise you I will make you sorry you ever even heard my name, Kurt!" Stephanie screamed shrilly. Hunter watched their interaction with growing frustration.  
  
"But at least I've heard you say my name, Steph….'Oh, Kurt!' 'Oh, Kurt'!" He screamed in a falsetto voice. 'You are soooo much better than Hunter!' He yelled shrilly, mocking Stephanie who knew that even if she had been drunk out of her mind could never have uttered those words. The audience started shrieking, some in horror at the image, some laughing at Kurt's parody.  
  
Hunter's eyes widened. Involuntarily, he took a step back from the Cage. "Steph?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.  
  
"Don't ask her for the truth, she wouldn't know it if it jumped up and bit her! I'll tell you the truth though, And the truth is this: Stephanie and I have been having an affair for oh, about eight months now!"  
  
Stephanie blinked in shock. "No! No, that's absolutely not true. It was only one time! You know that, Kurt, you know it! It was only once…." Stephanie trailed off seeing the look of triumph on Kurt's face that her revelation had brought.  
  
She turned to Hunter, pressed her hand to the Cage. "It was only once…I'm so sorry, baby, I didn't want you to find out like this. But I swear to God, it was only once. And I've never been sorrier for anything in my entire life, if you've ever believed anything that came out of my mouth, you have to believe that!" She sobbed.  
  
Hunter felt poleaxed. His mind started conjuring up images of Kurt touching his wife, touching his Stephanie….his stomach turned and he thought he was going to throw up. He opened his mouth to speak but unexpectedly Chris took advantage of Hunter's momentary distraction and flung himself on top of Hunter, locking in the Walls of Jericho. Hunter writhed in pain, but seeing Kurt's jubilant expression he felt a surge of almost supernatural anger. He pulled Jericho out of the hold and slammed him into the side of the Cage, pretending he was Kurt, beating him with blind fury. Chris started slumping down the Cage walls but managed to roll himself toward the southwest corner of the ring. He tried to climb up to get out, but Hunter pulled him back down. He continually pummeled Jericho until he was unconscious and then he savagely started climbing the Cage wall himself. The audience screamed as Hunter got nearly to the top…but then new music cued. nWo music. Hunter looked down in bewilderment as Shawn, Show, X-Pac, and of course, Nash came down to the ring. "What the hell are you doing?" Hunter yelled at them, wanting to get down there so he could beat Kurt's ugly face into unconsciousness too. But Shawn just smiled and Hunter watched in shock as Show and Nash suddenly bodily lifted a kicking Angle. X-Pac threw the Referee down and opened up the Cage. He pulled out the Sledgehammer and tossed it into the ring near Hunter. Hunter jumped down, watching as Nash and Show dragged Kurt in-he was fighting of course, but against the two of them, it was impossible, even for Kurt Angle. Nash dumped Kurt at Hunter's feet, smiled, bowed mockingly and walked out of the ring with Show. They locked the door, and Nash motioned Hunter to Angle who suddenly wasn't laughing anymore. Hunter smiled, a smile that would have sent chills down the devil's spine, reached over and pedigreed Kurt instantly, pounding on him immediately afterwards. The audience went wild. Stephanie sat on the steel steps, choking back her sobs.   
  
More referees had come down to the Cage by now of course, but Nash, Show and X-Pac were continually routing them, wanting their friend to take his sweet time. Kurt was bleeding profusely by now, but Hunter pulled him to his feet and slammed against the Cage wall. "Did you sleep with my wife?" Hunter hissed in his ear. The red haze was deepening, Kurt looked like a big, bald tomato right now. Kurt, no longer cocky, couldn't summon a response. He started slumping to the floor but Hunter forced him upright.  
  
"Answer me, damn it!" Hunter demanded.   
  
"Hunter, look out!" Stephanie suddenly screamed, horrified. Chris had finally come to, and had grabbed the sledgehammer thrust in by X-Pac. He slammed Hunter in the stomach, causing Hunter to double over, gasping for air. Chris hit him continuously, and Kurt stood shakily. Nash saw what was happening, tried to get to the Cage but there were just too damn many referees and guards…this was turning bad, he realized suddenly.  
  
Kurt and Chris took turns hitting Hunter with the sledgehammer. Stephanie flattened herself alongside the Cage, trying to stay out of the way of the nWo, referees and security guards fighting it out and made her way to the door. But X-Pac had broken the damn lock! She started kicking the door in frantically, desperate to get to Hunter.  
  
Hunter managed to elbow Chris but Kurt still had the damn sledgehammer. He had to get the hell out of this Cage. He ran for the southwest corner of the ring, started climbing. Kurt ran after him, climbing up after him. Hunter's hand pulled on a part of the Cage and there was a loud resounding rumble. He looked up and….the whole southwest corner of the Cage folded in on itself, the bolts coming apart as the entire wall of the Cage fell down and Hunter landed beneath it, Kurt beneath him.   
  
The entire Cage had collapsed, a wreck of hundreds of pounds of metal. Stephanie had fallen over, but she pulled herself on the remnants of the Cage, started screaming again and crawled to Hunter, trying to pull the Cage wall off of him….but one of the support beams had fallen across his chest, and onto Kurt. Her fingers grasped at it but it didn't budge. The referees and security guards had stopped fighting finally and came over to start lifting the beam, along with Show, Shawn and Nash. Stephanie couldn't seem to stop screaming, he wasn't waking up…why hadn't he woken up?! And the blood….most of it was Kurt's….the beam had done a number on him too, but Hunter had borne the brunt of the weight. She ran her fingers through his hair, being careful not to move his head in the slightest. "Baby, wake up!" She screamed. "Hunter, please wake up!"  
  
"Get the hell away from him you bitch." Shawn told her coldly, kneeling next to his fallen friend, trying not to let the horror show in his face.  
  
"What?" Stephanie gasped.  
  
"You heard what I said. You aren't fit to breathe the same air as him, much less be his wife. You never really gave a damn about him did you? You just rode him all the way to the top…you never would have even looked twice at him if he hadn't been Triple H, would you?" Shawn asked accusingly.  
  
"No, no….that's not true at all. Shawn, I love him. He's my life. He's the love of my life…I love him." She said again.  
  
"You don't know the meaning of the word. You're a user, Stephanie, and I don't want you anywhere near my friend. He deserves a hell of a lot better than the likes of some adulterating whore. I won't ask you again to go away, Stephanie." Shawn said ominously as they watched the paramedics finally making their way to the ring. Stephanie took a last look at Hunter…she didn't want to leave his side, but she could tell Shawn meant every word of what he was saying. She rose slowly, unsteadily as the paramedics carefully loaded Hunter and Kurt onto stretchers. She would follow them to the hospital, she had to…but a part of her was so ashamed and she couldn't help but wonder if Shawn was right and that Hunter did deserve better than her. She watched as the paramedics made their way up the ramp and started to get out of the remnants of the ring when she heard talking behind her. She turned and saw Chris sitting up, being examined by paramedics but still cognizant and in one piece.  
  
She became aware that Chris had been saying something, but it was only now that she tuned in.  
  
"He lied. The s.o.b. lied." He kept repeating, breathing shallowly, looking at all of the blood on the floor. Blood that so easily could have been his….  
  
Stephanie slowly walked over to him. "Lied? Who lied, about what?" She asked softly.  
  
"He lied. That-Kurt---Kurt should have been me. It would have been me." Chris said disbelievingly.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Stephanie pressed, trying to keep her voice low, comforting, to draw him out, but suddenly she was remembering the look she had seen in Chris' eyes at the beginning of this nightmare…the blood in her veins became supercharged.   
  
"He said there was no way I could be hurt…it would just be Hunter. I would be safely out of danger…but he lied. He knew the whole damn thing would fall, he knew that if I was underneath Hunter, like Kurt was, like I should have been….I would have been hit with the beam too." Chris said miserably.  
  
"This was no accident….this was deliberate. This was done on purpose." Stephanie realized what he was saying in horror. "Who did this, Chris?"   
  
Chris didn't respond, and Stephanie lost it. She ran to him, kicked him with her stiletto in the chest, kicking back a paramedic. "You fuckin' bastard! Who did this to my husband?!" She screamed, collapsing to the floor, beating on his chest. Chris protested he didn't know, swore he didn't know, but made no move to fight back. Suddenly, someone was lifting her off of Chris and she turned to beat him too, but stopped dead when she saw that it was her brother.  
  
"Stop it, Steph! This can't be good for you, can't be good for your baby. We're going." Shane said, pulling her away from Chris.  
  
"Go to hell, Shane! I'm not finished yet! I'll kill him!" Stephanie screamed, but Shane pulled her over his shoulder. "We're done here!" Shane yelled back at her. She beat at him with hard pounding on his back, kneeing him in the chest. "Stop it! Stop it right now! Don't you want to get to the hospital? Get to Hunter, make sure he's still breathing?"  
  
Stephanie gasped. "Oh, God. Yes. I-was just so angry….oh, God, hurry Shane! I have to get to Hunter!"  
  
"Good. I'm putting you down now." Shane told her, and he did so, running with his sister up the ramp. "I just hope we're not too late." He said under his breath. _


End file.
